Israel Adesanya: Successful mixed martial artist who has a complicated personal life

Israel Adesanya, widely regarded as one of the most exceptional fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA), has enjoyed a remarkable career filled with numerous achievements and accolades.

However, beyond his extraordinary success inside the ring, Adesanya’s personal life has recently taken an unexpected turn. In a situation that has recently garnered significant attention, Adesanya and his girlfriend have decided to separate, raising contentious issues regarding him.

This piece explores the triumphs of Adesanya’s combat sports journey while also shedding light on the complexities of his personal life.

Table of Content hide 1 Israel Adesanya biography 2 Israel Adesanya career 2.1 Career as a kickboxer 2.2 Career as a professional boxer 2.3 Career as a mixed martial artist 3 Israel Adesanya records 3.1 Kickboxing record 3.2 Professional boxing record 3.3 Mixed Martial Arts record 4 Israel Adesanya’s net worth 5 Israel Adesanya’s family 6 Israel Adesanya’s girlfriend 7 Israel Adesanya’s age

Israel Adesanya biography

Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya was born on July 22, 1989. He is a Nigerian-born New Zealand professional athlete who excels in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Adesanya, the eldest of five children, was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Oluwafemi, works as an accountant, while his mother, Taiwo, is a nurse. During his early education at Chrisland School, Opebi, Adesanya participated in the school’s Taekwondo after-school club but he had to discontinue due to an injury, as his mother insisted.

In 1999, when Adesanya was 10 years old, his family temporarily relocated to Ghana for 10 months but eventually settled in Rotorua, New Zealand. This move was primarily driven by his parents’ desire for their children to receive a quality education. Adesanya attended Rotorua Boys’ High School, where he did not engage in sports but developed a keen interest in Japanese anime like Death Note and Naruto manga series. His experience of being bullied during high school influenced his decision to pursue martial arts later in life.

Upon completing high school, Adesanya pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Design at the Universal College of Learning in Whanganui. At the age of 18, he discovered a passion for kickboxing after watching the Muay Thai film Ong-Bak. Two years later, Adesanya made the bold choice to leave his studies and focus on kickboxing full-time. He accumulated an amateur record of 32-0 before turning professional and competing in China. At 21, he relocated to Auckland, New Zealand, and began his training in mixed martial arts (MMA) at City Kickboxing under the guidance of Eugene Bareman.

Notably, he trained alongside other notable UFC fighters like Dan Hooker, Kai Kara-France and the current UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski. Adesanya also received wrestling training from Andrei Păuleț, a Romanian New Zealander.

Currently, Adesanya competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he holds the title of UFC Middleweight Champion for the second time. As of March 21, 2023, he was listed in the fifth position in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

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Israel Adesanya career

Israel Adesanya in an UFC fight

Adesanya started his career as a kickboxer, he then moved to boxing and then mixed martial arts.

Career as a kickboxer

In May 2010, Adesanya embarked on a remarkable seven-fight winning streak, commencing with a unanimous decision victory over Tim Antonio. The following six fights primarily took place in China under the banner of Wu Lin Feng. Adesanya’s impressive winning streak granted him a spot in the 2014 Kunlun Fight 80 kg tournament held during Kunlun Fight 2. Although he reached the semifinals, he suffered a loss in an extra round split decision against Simon Marcus.

Subsequently, Adesanya made his debut in the Glory promotion at Glory 15, where he faced Filip Verlinden but was defeated via a unanimous decision. However, they had a rematch two years later at Glory of Heroes 3, which Adesanya won via unanimous decision.

Adesanya also participated in the King in the Ring Cruiserweights II tournament in the New Zealand regional circuit. He emerged victorious by securing a unanimous decision against Slava Alexeichik in the quarterfinals, a knockout win over Pati Afoa in the semifinals and ultimately claimed the tournament championship with a knockout of Jamie Eades. Additionally, Adesanya took part in the 2015 Cruiserweights III tournament, triumphing with technical knockouts against Kim Loudon and Mark Timms in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. He then clinched his second tournament victory by delivering a first-round knockout to Pati Afoa.

Advancing in weight class, Adesanya entered the 2015 Heavyweights III tournament. He achieved a TKO victory over Nase Foai in the quarterfinals, a KO win against Dan Roberts in the semifinals and faced Jamie Eades in the finals. Adesanya had previously faced Eades in the final of the 2014 Cruiserweight tournament. In their rematch, Adesanya secured the tournament title with a unanimous decision triumph.

During his subsequent bouts, Adesanya emerged victorious in five out of six fights, notably defeating Yousri Belgaroui and Bogdan Stoica. His lone defeat occurred against Alex Pereira, who would go on to become the GLORY Middleweight champion. Pereira won by unanimous decision.

Adesanya’s journey continued in the 2016 Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament. He overcame Robert Thomas via unanimous decision in the semifinals and ultimately triumphed in the tournament, securing a split decision victory against Yousri Belgaroui. He then challenged Jason Wilnis for the Glory Middleweight championship at Glory 37: Los Angeles, but Wilnis emerged as the winner through a unanimous decision, though the result sparked controversy.

Before transitioning to mixed martial arts, Adesanya engaged in his final kickboxing fight, a rematch against Alex Pereira at Glory of Heroes 7. Pereira emerged victorious with a knockout, after dropping Adesanya with a short left hook in the third round.

Career as a professional boxer

In November 2014, Adesanya embarked on his professional boxing journey, facing off against Daniel Ammann, a two-time Australian champion. He was one of the two wildcards to participate in the inaugural cruiserweight Super 8 Boxing Tournament.

The tournament, which took place at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, was headlined by Shane Cameron and Kali Meehan. Adesanya’s quarter-final match against Ammann ended in a controversial loss via unanimous decision, despite appearing to have outpointed his opponent.

Undeterred, Adesanya reentered the Super 8 tournament in May 2015, which was held at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch. This second cruiserweight series offered a prize of NZD 25,000 and a new car to the winner.

In his first fight of the tournament, Adesanya triumphed over his compatriot, Asher Derbyshire, in the first round, knocking him out. He then secured a majority decision victory against Lance Bryant in his second tournament bout. Adesanya emerged victorious over Brian Minto in the competition’s final, winning by a split decision.

Adesanya’s participation continued in the 2015 Super 8 Cruiserweight tournament. He advanced to the semifinals by defeating Zane Hopman via unanimous decision. In the final, he successfully defended his cruiserweight crown by earning a unanimous decision win against Lance Bryant.

Career as a mixed martial artist

In December 2017, Adesanya signed with the UFC and made his debut against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221. He secured a second-round TKO victory in that bout. Adesanya continued his successful run in the UFC, earning a five-fight winning streak and defeating notable opponents like Anderson Silva. He then had the opportunity to compete for the UFC Interim Middleweight Championship against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, where Adesanya emerged victorious via a unanimous decision.

At UFC 243, Adesanya faced Robert Whittaker in a title unification bout for the UFC Middleweight Championship. In the second round of the fight, Adesanya scored a knockout, becoming the undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion.

Adesanya’s first loss in mixed martial arts occurred at UFC 259, where he challenged Jan Blachowicz for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship. He lost the fight by a unanimous decision.

Returning to the Middleweight division, Adesanya defended his title against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. He secured a victory via a unanimous decision and extended his streak of title defences to three.

But on November 12, 2022, Adesanya suffered a loss in his UFC Middleweight title defence against Alex Pereira at UFC 281, where he was defeated by a TKO.

On April 8, 2023, at UFC 287, Pereira and Adesanya had a rematch for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Adesanya emerged victorious by delivering a knockout in the second round, reclaiming the title. As a result of his impressive performance, Adesanya was honoured with the Performance of the Night award.

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Israel Adesanya records

Adesanya holds an impressive record both as a kickboxer, a boxer and a mixed martial artist. Let’s explore his records in these disciplines:

Kickboxing record

As a professional kickboxer, Adesanya amassed a record of 75 wins and 5 losses. His achievements in kickboxing include capturing titles and defeating top-level opponents.

In the prestigious Glory Kickboxing promotion, Adesanya achieved great success. He held the Glory interim middleweight championship, which he won in 2017 after defeating Jason Wilnis.

Throughout his kickboxing career, Adesanya faced and defeated renowned opponents, displaying his striking prowess and technical brilliance. His exceptional record and achievements in kickboxing provided a solid foundation for his subsequent transition to mixed martial arts.

Professional boxing record

Before making his way into the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), Adesanya had a successful career in professional boxing.

Between 2014 and 2015, Adesanya took part in six professional bouts. During this period, he accumulated five victories and suffered a single loss in the realm of boxing.

His time in boxing served as a stepping stone before he transitioned to mixed martial arts (MMA), where he achieved great success in the UFC.

Mixed Martial Arts record

Adesanya’s MMA record currently stands at 23 wins and two losses. He has won 15 of those bouts via knockout.

After he triumphed over Griffiths, he continued his winning streak by defeating Song Kenan and Gele Qing in New Zealand before venturing abroad for his first fights. He achieved four consecutive victories in China and captured the AFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Melvin Guillard in Melbourne.

His inaugural bout in the United States of America resulted in a split decision win against Marvin Vettori in Arizona in 2018, which garnered attention on a larger scale.

Following his notable performance against Derek Brunson, Adesanya received the Performance of the Night award at UFC 230. By April 2019, he secured the interim UFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Kelvin Gastelum.

Several months later, he unified the title in Melbourne by knocking out Robert Whittaker.

Before his match against Pereira, Adesanya’s only defeat occurred during his Light Heavyweight debut against Jan Błachowicz at UFC 259 in Las Vegas.

Israel Adesanya’s net worth

Israel Adesanya with his championship belt

Adesanya’s net worth is estimated to be $4 million, according to media reports.

Israel Adesanya’s family

As stated earlier, Adesanya has four younger siblings. His father, Oluwafemi, works as an accountant, while his mother, Taiwo, is a nurse.

Israel Adesanya’s girlfriend

Israel Adesanya and his girlfriend

Adesanya’s romantic involvement with a woman – named Charlotte Powdrell – gained public attention about four years ago when they were spotted together publicly for the first time. This came to light after a photo surfaced online featuring Adesanya posing with Powdrell following his victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.

Recently, it has been reported that Adesanya has been taken to court by his ex-girlfriend. Powdrell, who is a real estate agent in New Zealand, is reportedly seeking half of his net worth in the legal proceedings.

It is important to note that Adesanya and Powdrell were not married, nor do they have any children together. The reason(s) behind their separation remain unknown.

Adesanya has reacted by releasing various posts about his ex-girlfriend on social media, and he seems very confident about the situation.

Israel Adesanya’s age

Israel Adesanya was born on July 22, 1989. He is currently 33 years old and will be 34 in 2023.

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