What Martial Arts Does Israel Adesanya Use In The UFC?

Israel Adesanya is arguably one of the greatest MMA and UFC fighters of all time and literally went on a 20-0 win streak which earned him the UFC Middleweight title in the process. During this time, he made a name for himself by stylishly beating top-tier opponents and making it look easy and relaxed in the process. Combined with his unusual personality and love for anime, it’s not surprising that the public quickly became captivated by his unusual persona.

However, more than this – Adesanya was simply a brilliant fighter. Fighting out of New Zealand, he was trained by Eugene Bareman who is somewhat of a legend on the island. Because of this, Adesanya was able to develop his fighting gift and use it to defeat an array of skilled MMA fighters. And, whilst many people are well aware of his kickboxing background, fewer people are aware of the other martial arts that The Stylebender trains in. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will understand that Adesanya is so much more than a kickboxer and he is well and truly a mixed martial artist in every sense of the term.

What Martial Arts Does Israel Adesanya Use?

Kickboxing

Perhaps Adesanya’s best martial art is kickboxing which isn’t surprising, considering this is how he wins the majority of his bouts. In fact, before starting MMA, Adesanya had a huge professional career in kickboxing which spanned over 7 years. He retired from pro kickboxing with a record of 75-5. Interestingly, 2 of those 5 losses came in his last 2 ever fights, so it looks like the Nigerian got out of kickboxing at the right time.

If you watch his MMA fights, you will often see Adesanya adopt a loose kickboxing stance that looks relaxed and calm. Due to his lanky frame and long legs, he can pick off his opponents from distance with a variety of kicks to the legs and the body. When the opponent is tired, he will then start to look for head kicks to finish them with a knockout. Adesanya began training kickboxing aged 18 in New Zealand and quickly mastered it. Remember, Adesanya stands at over 6’4 in height and a lot of that comes in the form of his legs. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand why he loves kickboxing.

Karate, Muay Thai & Taekwondo

Unlike kickboxing, Adesanya hasn’t really had much formal training in the way of Karate or TKD. However, like all top kicking specialists, he knows a large variety of kicks. Often, kickboxing teaches more conventional kicks such as the roundhouse and front kick. These are obviously effective, but sometimes you’ll need to mix things up. This is where Karate and Taekwondo come in handy as they use a variety of spinning kicks and use more of an unusual flavor.

So, although Adesanya isn’t ranked in these arts, that’s not to say that he hasn’t trained in them. Interestingly, Adesanya’s first ever martial art that he trained as a kid in Nigeria was Taekwondo which is where his love for kicking may have developed. It makes sense too, considering that he’s one of the best kicking-martial artists ever, and part of this is that he can mix up kicks from a variety of different martial arts styles…hence his nickname ‘The Style bender’.

Aside from these, he’s also trained in Muay Thai. In fact, he even praised his Muay Thai coach Frank Hickman after beating Robert Whittaker. Like kickboxing, learning Muay Thai was a smart move for Adesanya as it allows him to use his lanky frame to great effect, using sharp elbow strikes from close up, and teep kicks to keep his opponents at distance. As a teen, it was originally Muay Thai that inspired him to begin kickboxing.

Boxing

Before MMA, Israel Adesanya also had a brief, professional boxing career where he went 5-1. This took place over the course of one year and all of his fights took place in New Zealand. Strangely, his only loss was in his first bout, but after he went on a 5 win fight streak. This happened in the middle of his kickboxing career, so it’s likely that he picked it up to test himself in a different setting and give himself more competitive experience.

Whilst he didn’t go on to win various belts and titles in boxing like he did in kickboxing or MMA, this short stint still proved that Adesanya was good at throwing punches too. Once again, he would play a smart, tactical game in the ring that used distance management perfectly and allowed him to pick off his opponents without getting hit. This would have been a great experience in teaching him quick, defensive footwork and how to use punches, not just relying on his legs to strike.

In terms of punches, boxing would later be combined with his Muay Thai and Karate experience which made Adesanya dangerous with his hands, albeit he still remained a kicking expert.

Defensive wrestling & BJJ

As Adesanya fought in modern MMA, his style needed some form of grappling to fight against good wrestlers such as Marvin Vettori. Gone were the days when you could dominate the UFC with only one martial arts background. In this case, Adesanya learned grappling from a purely defensive standpoint. This can be seen with his MMA record where literally none of his wins came by way of submission.

In other words, Adesanya learned wrestling to stay on his feet and avoid takedowns, rather than to use them offensively during fights. The same goes for his BJJ, where Adesanya certainly knows and trains it, without really using it to attack his opponents. In 2020, Adesanya was promoted to blue belt in BJJ by the legendary Andre Galvao. However, like many professional MMA fighters, it’s fair to say that his skills were far beyond that of a white belt during 2019 and before, and it’s likely that he simply never got a formal belt promotion.

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