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This past weekend saw Israel Adesanya defend his UFC middleweight title successfully for the fifth time, as he outpointed Jared Cannonier. Despite this win, he still doesn’t seem ready to become the promotion’s biggest star.
Will Israel Adesanya ever reach the level of stardom enjoyed by Conor McGregor, who remains the UFC’s most bankable fighter right now? It’s highly debatable and, to be fair, ‘The Last Stylebender’ still has time to reach the level of ‘The Notorious’.
Right now, though, it doesn’t look all that likely.
Here are five reasons why Israel Adesanya will never reach Conor McGregor levels of stardom.
#5. Israel Adesanya failed at becoming double champion, unlike Conor McGregor
While Conor McGregor was already setting pay-per-view buyrate records before his victory over Eddie Alvarez in 2016, it’s arguable that it was that win that made ‘The Notorious’ into undoubtedly the biggest star in UFC history.
After all, the victory meant that McGregor became the first fighter to hold two UFC titles in different weight classes simultaneously. While he failed to defend either belt, he’ll always have a place in the promotion’s record books due to this feat.
Since then, three other fighters – Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo – have replicated McGregor’s achievement. However, when Israel Adesanya attempted to become the fifth, he fell slightly short.
‘The Last Stylebender’ was unable to unseat then-UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz in 2021. While there was no shame in the loss, it’s easy to imagine that had he won, Adesanya could’ve taken off as a McGregor-level star.
Instead, since the loss, it’s felt like ‘The Last Stylebender’ has almost hit his ceiling rather than shooting into the stratosphere, and it now feels like his stardom levels may have peaked already.
#4. Israel Adesanya’s trash talk seems forced
Part of what made Conor McGregor such a huge star in his early days with the UFC was his witty trash-talking abilities. ‘The Notorious’ always came off like a natural on the microphone, and his putdowns of fighters like Chad Mendes and Jeremy Stephens remain well-remembered years later.
It’s definitely fair to say that Israel Adesanya is a hugely charismatic fighter in his own right. Since his octagon debut in 2018, he’s been able to draw the fans in thanks to this, most notably producing some of the most memorable entrances in UFC history.
However, when compared to McGregor in terms of his skills on the microphone, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is lacking somewhat.
In recent months, in particular, it’s felt like Adesanya’s trash talk has been somewhat forced, with his reference to the Disney movie Frozen in his callout of rival Alex Pereira garnering plenty of criticism from fans and his fellow fighters alike.
When you add in the fact that many fans believed that Sean Strickland got the better of ‘The Last Stylebender’ in their recent verbal exchange, it’s probably arguable that Adesanya simply hasn’t quite mastered the microphone in the same way that McGregor once did.
Despite his natural charisma, then, it seems unlikely that Adesanya will reach the same levels of stardom that the Irishman has been able to do.
#3. Conor McGregor had an entire country behind him during his rise to fame
While it took Conor McGregor some time to become a truly worldwide star, from the moment he debuted in the UFC in early 2013, it felt like ‘The Notorious’ had the entire country of Ireland behind him.
After all, prior to his rise to fame, Ireland never really had a top UFC fighter to get behind, with the likes of Tom Egan and Stevie Lynch largely failing to make any kind of impact in the octagon.
McGregor, on the other hand, seemed to unite the country behind him. In turn, it didn’t take long for the UFC’s Irish-American fans to join the bandwagon, either. Of course, all of this fan attention helped massively when it came to ‘The Notorious’ developing into a huge star.
Israel Adesanya, on the other hand, has never had the same kind of spotlight from an entire country that McGregor enjoyed. That’s because unlike ‘The Notorious’, he doesn’t seem to fully identify with a single nation.
‘The Last Stylebender’ was born in Nigeria, but calls New Zealand home and fights out of that country’s famed City Kickboxing gym. However, he’s never really received McGregor-level adulation from either country.
Whether that’s because both Nigeria and the Oceanic region have other fighters to get behind, including a pair of UFC champions in Kamaru Usman and Alexander Volkanovski, or whether it’s because Adesanya identifies with both nations is up for debate.
Regardless of the reason, though, there’s no denying that McGregor’s fame in Ireland helped to drive his star power, and that’s something Adesanya will probably never be able to replicate.
#2. Israel Adesanya has never had a truly epic rivalry to help him become a superstar
While the UFC’s biggest stars over the years haven’t always had a lot in common, one thing that does tend to link them is the fact that they have all embarked on legendary rivalries with at least one major opponent at some point during their careers.
Anderson Silva, for instance, only took off as a mega star once he began to feud with bitter rival Chael Sonnen in 2010. Georges St-Pierre had legendary rivalries with Matt Hughes and Nick Diaz, while Tito Ortiz became a star off the back of his feud with Ken Shamrock. In turn, his feud with Chuck Liddell made ‘The Iceman’ into the UFC’s poster-boy.
Conor McGregor, of course, rode the wave of his rivalries with Jose Aldo and Nate Diaz to the top of the UFC, where he’s essentially remained ever since. His later feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov eventually setting the UFC’s record pay-per-view buyrate.
Israel Adesanya, on the other hand, has simply never embarked on the kind of rivalry that could turn him into a McGregor-level star. Sure, he had verbal spats with the likes of Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori, but neither rivalry set the world alight. Adesanya also outclassed both men in the octagon.
Were Robert Whittaker more of an outspoken personality, then his rivalry with ‘The Last Stylebender’ could’ve helped both men in terms of their star power, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Therefore, unless his upcoming bout with Alex Pereira produces a huge rivalry that catches on with fans, it seems unlikely that Adesanya will have that career-defining feud, making his chances of reaching McGregor's level of stardom doubtful.
#1. Israel Adesanya’s recent fights have been dull to watch, while Conor McGregor has always delivered
While he hasn’t been in the best form recently, winning just one of his last four bouts inside the octagon, it’s safe to say that when it comes to exciting fights, Conor McGregor has never failed to deliver the goods.
While UFC fans were always likely to be attracted to McGregor’s charisma, microphone skills and abrasive personality, it was his abilities in the octagon that really drew them in. After all, who else could land the kind of shots that he used to take out fighters like Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo?
Early on in his UFC career – in fact, all the way up to the point that he won the middleweight title from Robert Whittaker in 2019 – Israel Adesanya had the same kind of vibe that McGregor once gave off, in that it was hard for fans to take their eyes off his fights.
However, Adesanya’s most recent visits to the octagon have been disappointing, to say the least. While he’s outclassed his last three foes, Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier, ‘The Last Stylebender’ didn’t come close to finishing any of them. In many ways, it felt like he was going through the motions at times.
Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with a fighter looking to take as little damage as possible during their fights, the fact that Adesanya is now coming under fire for his style inside the octagon simply won’t help his star power with the fans.
Therefore, unless he’s able to produce more fireworks in his next few bouts, it seems unlikely he’ll ever reach the same kind of level of stardom as McGregor.
