Israel Adesanyas (16-0) tidiga framgångar i karriären och faktumet att han tidigt förutspåddes bli mästare samt kaxigheten har lett till en del jämförelser med UFC-ikonen och världsstjärnan Conor McGregor (21-4) som tog MMA-världen med storm vid sitt inträde i sporten.
Israel Adesanya anser att de delar em del egenskaper men att de befinner sig på totalt olika vägar. Han hade följande att säga i The MMA Hour där han beskrev att den McGregor i sina yngre år tycktes ha samma passion för fighting som han själv:
A guy like Conor McGregor, one thing I really appreciated when he first got in the game and one thing that really inspired me was his love for fighting. Eventually, I don’t know, it kind of became not just about fighting and more about the money and selling numbers and breaking records and pay-per-view and all that kind of stuff. But, one thing — and I don’t know the guy that well — I can say from what I see lately, from the way he’s posting his training [videos], he’s getting back into that same mindset.
We’re warriors, we’re gladiators, we’re modern day f*cking badasses. A fighter walks in the room and people are like ‘oooo’ because everyone is trying to be a tough guy. But, we don’t have to do sh*t because we are tough guys and everyone knows it. So, I feel like he’s getting back to that mindset of the younger Conor McGregor that loved to fight and f*ck everyone up.
Adesanya anser som sagt att de två befinner sig på olika vägar men att de båda ändå har titeln och ära som mål. Nigerianen tror att framgångarna i oktagonen kommer i sin tur leda till framgångar utanför tävlandet och att han därför har fullt fokus på sin MMA just nu:
[McGregor] is on his own journey, I’m on my own journey,. That’s the beauty of this sport. We’re trying to get to the same place, maybe, but we’re on different paths.
I just want to f*ck everyone up. I’m not a f*cking asshole or a dick or anything unless they deserve it. I just want to fight and be remembered as the best, who fought everyone and beat them. Then the money, the numbers, the records, they all chase me. So, there’s a little bit of strategy to it but I don’t want to go too deep. I’ll keep that to myself because look, [14 months] and I’ve already headlined a couple (of) shows and I’m already on the way. I wouldn’t say I’m at the top yet. But, I keep rising, and even when I’m at the top, I keep rising. I just want to have these key moments, these key fights, and that’s about it.
