Middleweight title winner Israel Adesanya of New Zealand celebrates after defeating Robert Whittaker of Australia during the middleweight title bout of the UFC 243 fight night in Melbourne on October 6, 2019. (Photo by ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE/AFP via Getty Images)
Nigerian-New Zealand UFC star Israel Adesanya was confident of his chances of keeping his Middleweight title against Yoel Romero at UFC 248.
The 30-year-old Adesanya won the belt at UFC 236 and has been on a tear in the UFC. Adesanya is 18-0 in his MMA career and spoke about the upcoming clash after an open workout session.
The 30-year-old first claimed that he wanted to make the division great. He was asked if Romero was the toughest challenge yet:
“Definitely, I mean there’s a reason I called him out. He doesn’t deserve this fight, not even close. But he’s a dangerous man.
“He’s a guy that in this era everyone runs away from. I’m a guy that if I see people running from something, I’m like ‘Why you running away?’”.
Romero is one of the most experienced UFC fighters out there and is coming off two losses. Adesanya claimed his challenger is human and the media actually made him much bigger than he is:
“I’ve seen him get hurt, I’ve seen him get tired many times. Every fight, he gets tired, so he’s human for everyone.
“The way you [media] perpetuate him is all ‘He’s made out of steel’.”
While the clash against Romero would be a physical affair, Adesanya highlighted that he wasn’t all that afraid of the coronavirus as his immune system had been hit hard in the past.
The Nigerian claimed he had malaria eight times during his childhood in Nigeria and that made him stronger.
One of his Adesanya’s walls was splattered with red dots during his childhood. This was done after he smashed several mosquitoes on the wall during his time in Nigeria.
The 30-year-old did look confident ahead of the fight, and it will be interesting to see how UFC 248 goes.
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