Issue 193

November 2020

Ahead of his fight at UFC 253, Israel Adesanya took a moment to display his Fighters Only World MMA Award.

Plenty has happened in Israel Adesanya's life over the past year, including his victory over Robert Whittaker that united the UFC middleweight division infront of a record-breaking crowd at UFC 243 and a successful defense against Yoel Romero in March. But ahead of his latest victory – a demolition of the previously undefeated Paulo Costa – Adesanya recalled another key moment from last year when he won Breakthrough Fighter of the Year at the Fighters Only World MMA Awards (main picture). He was only too happy to remind Costa that he, Adesanya, was in possession of this award while Costa was not as their pre-fight trash talk on SportsCenter reached new heights. He's still the man to beat.