Israel Adesanya Is Perfectly Poised To Takeover
However you want to view what was happening as Dustin Poirier laid out plenty of mahi on Conor McGregor on Sunday afternoon in Aotearoa, one thing should be blatantly clear; Israel Adesanya is perfectly poised to takeover combat sports. Even if McGregor bounces back and tries to hold on to what was, this is now the Adesanya show and that leaves Team City Kickboxing in prime real estate as a top-five combat sports team.
First though, respect to Dustin Poirier. I once loved Mystic Mac, yet as I wiggled through life I connected with Poirier far more as his slow-cooking journey and how he conducts himself resonates with my kiwi vibes. Poirier is the humble kiwi, the dude who would help clean up the changing sheds and unload the team bus. There isn't a whole lot of Aotearoa in McGregor or his work, so if you only tap into UFC business to catch McGregor there is ample reason to enjoy Poirier's craft as he's about as kiwi as any other UFC fighter.
This isn't an exact science, yet comparing McGregor and Adesanya's recent fight history does tell a tale..
Conor McGregor
Four fights since start of 2018: 3-1.
Israel Adesanya
11 fights since his UFC debut to start 2018: 10-1.
Consider how those stars aligned for Adesanya to enter the UFC right as McGregor was defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov. We all know how that fight played out (before, during and after) and it's hard not to point to this moment as the spark for McGregor's slide. No matter how dramatic you believe McGregor's slide has been, there is quite obviously the rise of Adesanya juxtaposed against whatever McGregor is up to.
Adesanya has already showcased his talent as a fighter. He is the middleweight champion, who won the interim championship after five fights. Then Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker and that fight still holds the UFC record for largest attendance ever (only two UFC fights have had over 56,000 in attendance and both were in Melbourne). Since then, Adesanya has had three title defences and his only lost came in moving up to challenge for the light heavyweight championship against Jan Blachowicz.
If none of that tickles your toes, maybe the fact that Adesanya is the best striker in the world might help. Team CKB is based in Auckland and this hearty kiwi team, rooted in the lineage of Aotearoa's striking history has developed a system that is genuinely world-class. Get Adesanya against a wrestler in the middleweight division though and Adesanya has showcased Team CKB's low key grappling prowess as well.
Whatever McGregor has done inside an octagon, Adesanya has matched. Then again, some of McGregor's lightweight homies have already done so with Poirier defeating him twice and Nurmagomedov undefeated across 29 MMA fights (12 UFC fights). No one in the UFC can match McGregor's star power though and this is where things get funky for Adesanya.
As a hearty kiwi, I'm of the belief that Adesanya is already well down this path. Adesanya is joined by jiu-jitsu master John Danaher as being the only kiwis to feature on Joe Rogan's podcast. Fuck Joe Rogan? Adesanya's got 5.3 million Instagram follows and almost a milly on Twitter. Fuck social media? Adesanya started a Youtube channel three months ago and has 282,000 subscribers and his views consistently crack six figures. Fuck Youtube? Adesanya has a multi-year deal with Puma which puts him on the same level as Virat Kohli and Neymar.
According to Wikipedia, Adesanya has not passed one million pay-per-view buys. McGregor has seven fights hitting that mark, with a high point of 2.4mil vs Nurmagomedov and McGregor is responsible for the five highest PPV ever. Don't sleep on Adesanya cracking that one million mark soon.
Much of what Adesanya does, is too big for Aotearoa. Adesanya is a hearty African as well, which when combined with being one of the most productive and effective athletes on social media around the world, puts him in the mix to work with global brands - not Aotearoa brands or brands that revolve around UFC.
I spend more time barefoot, outdoors than I do perusing social media. Adesanya's presence is too grand to ignore though and I was curious to see Adesanya share a lovely brand deal with the UFC's latest partner via some fantastic photoshoppy skills that are usually found in the Niche Cache's ironic cover images...
The UFC makes a lot of money, but doesn't share it with their fighters. Various reports suggest that fighters receive 15-20 percent of the UFC's profits and generally, most professional sports aim to get closer to 50 percent. This is now evident in UFC's latest partnership which was reported to be worth $175 million and fighters will not receive anything directly from that deal - unless you are Adesanya and have leverage to take advantage of the partnership.
This is why you see headlines about high profile UFC fighters wanting more money for their work. I won't go deep into the mangroves here but from the outside looking in, the UFC is a kinda shady commercial entity. Adesanya though has been in alignment with the UFC as he fights regularly and there has been little to no niggle between Adesanya and Dane White/UFC, which then flows on to Team CKB.
Given that the Team CKB roster usually gets a few fights on any Adesanya card for logistical reasons (especially in these times), Adesanya is paving a lane for Team CKB to thrive in the UFC. While McGregor definitely battled the UFC around money, McGregor was essentially a money-buffet for the UFC and thus we didn't see the same drama that other fighters are having. Adesanya is far more similar to McGregor in this regard than those other fighters as Adesanya and the UFC are making plenty of money when Adesanya fights.
Next up for Adesanya should be a rematch against Robert Whittaker. While the UFC attendance record was reached in Melbourne and this fight would put up similar numbers again in Australia, or sell out any stadium in Aotearoa, these strange times will probably have this fight in United Arab Emirates (who pay lots and lots of money to look cool) or Las Vegas. Obviously Adesanya has to win that fight to keep this roll on, even if he loses though he'll move into kia kaha mode and keep on groovin'.
That's why this moment is so funky. Adesanya is perfectly poised to be the UFC's biggest superstar and he has the craft, charisma and cultural impact to connect with sports fans far beyond the UFC. This pathway has opened up and I'd argue that Adesanya is already the biggest star behind McGregor, so with the possible downfall of McGregor we could see Adesanya takeover.
What's all the rage in combat sports at the moment? Exhibition boxing.
Who has won boxing bouts? Israel Adesanya.
Stay tuned.
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