Israel
Adesanya’s time at
City Kickboxing has made him more resilient.
Adesanya claims he is no longer affected by negative comments. The
former two-time
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion hinted
that racist comments have made him thick-skinned, growing up in New
Zealand.
Why Israel Adesanya considers the negativity at his former gym
useful
Adesanya claims that he was insulted by some members of his former
gym, CKB. However, he accepted it as part of the practice of facing
negativity at press conferences. No matter how tough it made him,
he notes that he is still human.
“You know what it’s like being black in New Zealand? Also, being at
CKB, the amount of sh*t that it was…” Adesanya said on his
YouTube channel. “Good practice. I liked it because it was good
practice, because I was like, okay, cool, if I can take the amount
of insults I get in this gym from these certain people, then I can
go to a press conference, or whatever, and shit wouldn’t bother me,
and I’d be able to fire back. So, it was good practice, but I’ve
got thick skin, and I don’t let anything in, but I’m human.”
Adesanya (24-6) started training at CKB full-time in 2010. “The
Last Stylebender” parted ways with the gym after 16 years this past
May. Adesanya now trains with a small team at Unity MMA with Andrei
Paulet as his head coach. Currently on a four-fight skid, He is
scheduled to headline
UFC Saudi Arabia against Sharabutdin
Magomedov (17-1) on Dec. 5.