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Israel Adesanya on comparisons to Jon Jones, other greats: I’m ‘the one and only me’

GLENDALE, Ariz. – You just never know what you’ll get from UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya.

The 28-year-old “Last Style Bender” is still sort of a mystery to MMA fans. Whatever you think you know about his personality and fighting style, just forget about it.

“Don’t expect anything from me in life,” Adesanya said today during UFC on FOX 29 media day. “Expect the unexpected, because a lot of people might be expecting like, ‘He’s gonna do this, he’s gonna try and do that, he’s gonna be this guy.’ But I’m me, you know?

“I might be feeling different on that day. I might be dark on that day. I might not even talk. I might just chill, or I might be real bubbly. I might give you guys a whole song and dance an everything. But, yeah, just expect the unexpected. Always expect me to bring my best when I’m in that cage.”

Adesanya (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) returns for his second octagon appearance Saturday, when he takes on Marvin Vettori (12-3-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) in a FOX-televised main-card fight at Gila River Arena, in Glendale, Ariz.

Adesanya impressed in his UFC debut in February, defeating Rob Wilkinson via second-round TKO with a dazzling display of striking. There already was a significant amount of buzz surrounding Adesanya prior to that fight. After finishing Wilkinson, the hype swelled: Could Adesanya be the the next Jon Jones?

Sure, there is a physical similarity between Adesanya and Jones (22-1-1 MMA, 16-1-1 UFC); they both posses lanky frames. The creative striking of Adesanya might also remind some of Jones and bring back memories of when the former light heavyweight champion burst on the UFC scene nearly a decade ago.

Adesnya, however, doesn’t really appreciate the comparison – to Jones or anyone else, for that matter.

“For me, it’s not about Jon Jones,” Adesanya said. “It’s just, I mean, I feel like it’s disrespectful to compare me or what I’ve done throughout my career to someone else – whether it be Anderson (Silva), Conor (McGregor), Chael (Sonnen), whoever. I just feel I’m not the next blah blah blah. I’m the first me, and the one and only me. So people need to get used to it.

“The comparison’s cool, but it’s not really cool.”

Facing Vettori is another opportunity for Adesanya to show he’s his own fighter. The origin of the matchup is pretty intriguing, too, as an encounter last December in Las Vegas served as the genesis.

“I was in the MGM (after UFC 219), walking through, and I happened to see Marvin and his crew walking through, as well,” Adesanya said. “Out of respect, I was like, ‘Hey, good fight.’ And he just kind of gave me this weird look, and I just didn’t like the energy. I was like, ‘What the f*ck?’”

And so he decided then that he wanted to fight Vettori. When Vettori was presented as an option among others, the choice was easy.

“He’s young. He’s tough,” Adesanya said. “He’s got a marble head that could take shots. I want to test that, see how hard that head is. … I welcome him to try and step in the holes in my game and see what happens.”

Adesanya said an encounter similar to the one with Vettori has already taken place with another fighter this week. So, if “The Last Style Bender” win on Saturday, a callout could be in order.

To hear more from Adesanya, check out his media day scrum above and his one-on-one interview with John Morgan below.

For more on UFC on FOX 29, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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