Israel Adesanya is looking to switch into “god mode” during his middleweight title fight with Jason 'Psycho' Wilnis (29-6-1, 8 KO's) at GLORY 37 LOS ANGELES.
The highly unorthodox Adesanya (65-3, 27 KO's) is one of the most unique fighters in the game, a master of evasive manoeuvring and avoiding damage. That's why he calls himself 'The Last Style Bender'; it's an homage to a Japanese anime character who was possessed of special skills and powers beyond that of mere mortals.
Adesanya's style stands in stark contrast to that of his opponent, who is an exponent of the classic Dutch style of kickboxing: relentless forward pressure, constant attack and a tendency to block or absorb damage rather than evade it.
“He is a prototypical pressure fighter, walks you down until you break. A lot of guys accept that, they stand there and take it. They put a tight guard up and take his shots. Even if he doesn't hit their chin he hits a target and that gives him positive feedback and that gets his momentum going,” he says.
“When people face me they hit air, they miss, so that takes their confidence down. They start thinking they cant catch me and they keep getting hit. It's all downhill from there for them... I hit this mode like god mode where I feel this guy cant touch me, like I have unlocked cheat mode in a game, I just toy with them.
“That's the game – you want to hit the other guy without getting hit yourself. But somehow along the way a lot of guys got it twisted and decided I'm gonna brawl til' I fall and stand in and bang. Why? It's silly. I am in this game for a short period of time and the rest of my life I want to have a quality life, I don't want to be damaged by age 45, you know?
“I have fought twenty guys like him, he has never fought a guy like me. What he can do, I can as well, but he can't do what I can.
“If I let my ego take over I could be like f--k you I can be more aggressive than you but that's not the smartest way to do things. I will take him into my world first. It's my fight. It's my fight to win.”
Adesanya and Wilnis headline GLORY 37 LOS ANGELES on Friday, January 20. The card airs live on ESPN 3 (re-airs Sunday on ESPN 2) and is preceded by the GLORY 37 SUPERFIGHT SERIES card, which airs live worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS.
