Israel Adesanya Falls Asleep And Then Mocked During 'Worst UFC Title Fight Ever'
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Israel Adesanya clearly wasn't impressed with the co-main event at UFC 274, with the middleweight champion falling asleep during what's been described as 'the most boring title fight' in the company's history.
Saturday night at the Footprint Centre in Arizona gave viewers some of the most entertaining moments of the year in UFC so far, with two excellent finishes in huge lightweight fights.
Michael Chandler delivered what could end up going down as the 'knockout of the year,' as he ended his fight with Tony Ferguson with a brilliant kick straight to the face.
Charles Oliveira then beat Justin Gaethje, with a first round submission, leaving the lightweight title unclaimed, after the Brazilian had to vacate the belt for missing weight.
However, amongst that entertainment, the co-main event on the night really failed to live up to expectations, as Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas for the women's strawweight title.
Only 68 strikes were landed by the pair across 25 minutes of action and it seems it left Adesanya very bored, so much so that he rested his eyes.
On a reaction video surrounded by his friends, and his brother, the UFC's middleweight champion appeared to close his eyes during the match.
He did claim he wasn't sleeping, saying, "that was a long blink," but his eyes then closed again and they only opened when someone pretended that something interesting happened.
The Last Stylebender joked "I thought that was a good fight" as someone around him claimed "that was a sacrifice," having watched one of the dullest title fights in UFC.
The 32-year-old is certainly experienced in the subject, having been part of the fight that previously held the title of being the most boring with a belt on the line.
That came in March 2020, in his first defence after unifying the interim titles with the undisputed, when he faced Yoel Romero at UFC 248.
During the reaction video, Adesanya's brother joked that the fight between Esparza and Namajunas may have surpassed the one between his brother and Romero.
Adesanya and his pals weren't the only ones who didn't enjoy the women's title fight, with UFC president Dana White even 'zoning out.'
White was spotted tuning into Saul Canelo Alvarez's loss to Dmitry Bivol during the fight, which isn't the first time he's watched boxing whilst octagonside.
In the post fight press conference Namajunas, who lost the title for the second time in her career was sure her strategy was correct, and that she'd won, saying, "I struck to the strategy. I felt as if I landed more shots. I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant or with any control time.
"I’d say she hit me with one good punch. I felt like I did the damage. I controlled the fight. I’m proud of myself because I stuck to my strategy.
"I know that in all of Carla’s fights she just baits people in, and she tries to get people to attack her.
"I’ve been in slugfests before. I’ve gotten my nose broken. I’ve stood there and shed blood in the octagon. I stuck to the strategy, and she didn’t really have any offense. She was whiffing at air the whole time.
"So, I thought I won."
Featured Image Credit: PA/YouTube
Topics: MMA, UFC, Israel Adesanya
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