Israel Adesanya: Nigerian UFC 259 fighter fit become MMA legend?
"For me na about di victories. Di names you collect, di scalps wey you take along di way. I wan be di guy wey take out everyone so that wen dem don tok finish dem go be like, 'na im be di greatest of all time.'
Dose na di words of reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel "Di Last Stylebender" Adesanya. Di Nigeria-born New Zealand-based fighter bin dey tok ahead of e ogbonge fight against fearsome light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, 38, wey be di headline fight of UFC 259 on 6 March. E go see di undefeated Adesenya, 31, make step up from middleweight as im attempt to become two-weight UFC champion. Irishman Conor McGregor na im be di first fighter for UFC history to win two titles afta e defeat Eddie Alvarez to add di lightweight title to e featherweight crown. Americans Daniel Cormier (light heavyweight and heavyweight) and Henry Cejudo (flyweight and bantamweight) as well as Brazilian Amanda Nunes (bantamweight and featherweight) come follow am afterwards. As Adesenya seek to join dis list of legends Nigerian MMA journalist Babatunde Koiki don explain to BBC Sport Africa wetin make Di Last Stylebender such a formidable fighter. Nigeria-born Israel Adesanya (right) face up to Poland Jan Blachowicz ahead of UFC 259 Striking accuracy Adesanya dey land one out of every two blows wey e attempt with either of e fists, elbows, knees or feet. Fighters wey land high percentage of dia strikes dey dey more efficient and waste less energy. And with e 80 inch arm reach coupled with e 44.5 inch leg reach for pesin wey get height of 6ft 4inches, Adesanya na nightmare from distance wit fearsome jabs. E dey take im time with e shots wey dey lead to decent 4.10 of significant punches wey e dey land per minute. Everything dey calculated. McGregor bin tok say: "Precision dey beat power and timing dey beat speed" dis na di perfect way to describe how Adesanya approach e fights. Pesin no dey record 15 MMA knockouts by accident. Masterful defence Nigeria-born Israel Adesanya (right) avoid punch from Paulo Costa for UFC 253 Adesanya don master di art of to dey manoeuvre im body away from attempted strikes by e opponents. Im dey absorb an average of 2.33 strikes per minute which, for tough sport like MMA, e dey pretty low. And e all dey down to im superb footwork, head movement and timing wey don help am dance out of range of one punch knockout specialists. Im also get di ability to avoid make im opponent dey take am down to di canvas wia some MMA fighters prefer to fight often as dem dey try force submissions, im don counter 86% of all attempts to put am down. Im sef no dey attempt takedowns, im dey clearly know say e success lie to dey do wetin im know how to do best: kicking and striking opponents into submission. Tremendous self belief Nigeria-born Israel Adesanya (right) lands a kick on Paulo Costa at UFC 253 Probably im biggest weapon na im mind. Pipo and e opponents don describe am as being cocky and arrogant. During verbal jousting sessions with e foes during pre-fight media events many don dey on di receiving end of e acidic wit and razor sharp tongue. Im social media barbs na one of a kind and e don manage to get under di skin and of many of those wey don to clash with am. Adesanya don back up every word with e fist for di octagon and im dey unbeaten.