It’s a common knowledge for fight fans that Israel Adesanya is a huge anime fan. The current undisputed and undefeated Middleweight Champion of the world has often cited anime as his source of inspiration and motivation. Ahead of UFC 253, Israel Adesanya was seen in a Akatsuki look from TV anime Naruto in the press-conference ahead of the epic showdown this weekend.
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Akatsuki is a group of Shinobi in the TV anime Naruto. The word Akatsuki translated to “Dawn” or “Daybreak.” With the UFC 253 set to take place in Abu Dhabi, it’s an interesting reference from Adesanya by wearing the symbol of a group of people whose main mission is to end war.
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Looking at UFC 253, Israel Adesanya was seen donning blonde and pink hair ahead of the lead-up, both a clear references to TV anime Dragon Ball Z. It won’t be surprising if Adesanya ends up coming in blue hair as he enters the octagon to take on Paulo Costa at UFC 253 for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
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In the lead-up to UFC 253, Israel Adesanya has mentioned Paulo Costa as a perfect villain, citing several animes in the process. At the media day of UFC 230, Adesanya had said, “it’s a Goku vs Vegetta type thing,” while speaking about the match-up with Darren Till. The reference has a lot to do with Adesanya’s respect for british sensation Darren Till. After Whittaker beat Till, Adesanya put out a tweet where he complimented Till’s striking and stated that he would like to fight him inside the octagon one day. Earlier, Adesanya teased a super-fight against Darren Till at Wembley during a recent media interaction.
Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa headlines UFC 253
After a lackluster performance against Yoel Romero, Adesanya will have a lot to prove against a dangerous striker like Paulo Costa. After a hard fought three rounds against Yoel Romero, and stoppage victories over Uriah Hall and Johnny Hendricks, Costa has earned his position to fight for the title belt. Israel Adesanya will look to answer his critics and prove everybody wrong as he did against Whittaker ahead of the much anticipated showdown between two of the best strikers in the Middleweight division, Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa.
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