He was the clear-cut top UFC debutant last year, and 12 months later, he has established himself as not just the best in the world at 185 pounds, but a star shining as bright as any name in MMA. “The Last Stylebender” he calls himself, a reference not just to his love of anime but to the very substantial way that he imposes his one-of-a-kind personality onto everything he touches.
Part Bruce Lee, part Anderson Silva, part Jabbawockee, part Banksy, there are probably a dozen different influences that come to mind when watching Adesanya, and yet somehow when it all comes together it produces a fighter like none we’ve ever seen before.