Israel Adesanya honours father Oluwafemi by wearing ‘Dadesanya’ shirt at UFC 259 presser

Ahead of their highly-anticipated clash at UFC 259, middleweight king Israel Adesanya and light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz came face-to-face for the first time at the UFC 259 pre-fight press conference. Blachowicz entered the arena in a blue suit, while Adesanya donned a white t-shirt wrapped in a black jacket. Both the fighters looked confident and traded some sarcastic comments in front of UFC supremo Dana White.

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Adesanya vs Jan Błachowicz: Israel Adesanya shows off his ‘Dadesanya’ shirt

However, when White separated the two fighters and asked them to pose for the media, Israel Adesanya flaunted his white tee before posing with his title. Fans were quick to notice that the Last Stylebender was wearing a ‘Dadesanya’ shirt, paying homage to his father Oluwafemi. Israel Adesanya, who makes his light heavyweight debut on Saturday night, considers Oluwafemi his mentor, telling Dave Schmulenson that though he and his father don’t live in the same city or town, Oluwafemi helps him break down opponents and keeps him updated throughout his fight camp.

“He tells me over the camp that you should watch out for this, you should be careful of this and make sure you do this,” Adesanya added.

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Israel Adesanya once blasted rival Jon Jones for bringing up Oluwafemi’s name when the two were involved in a Twitter war. According to fans, it’s one of the reasons why Adesanya agreed to move up the weight class so that he could get his hands on the former light heavyweight champion. Reports claim that if Adesanya stops Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 and becomes the double champion, he could rally to fight Jones, who vacated his LHW strap in 2020 to move to the heavyweight division.  

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Adesanya vs Jan Błachowicz: Jan not underestimating Adesanya

On paper, Jan Blachowicz has a slight advantage over Adesanya, considering the Polish star is heavier and powerful. However, he’s not taking anything for granted, telling the press that the Last Stylebender could “also knock me out” with his impressive striking.

The Light Heavyweight Champion said he is delighted to make his first title defence against an undefeated fighter like Israel Adesanya who holds the record of 20-0. The Polish fighter is looking forward to giving Adesanya the first loss of his MMA career. “After first kick or the first punch, he’s going to know what I’m talking about when I’m talking about the legendary Polish power,” Blachowicz told MMA Fighting.

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