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Israel Adesanya Credits Dancing as to Why He's Such a Good Fighter


The night Israel Adesanya won and unified the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight championship at UFC 243, he did something else when he made his way to the cage in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium. "The Last Stylebender" walked in with three dancers and did something that is unique to walkouts in the UFC as he performed a short dance with the others before he fought.

As far as unique and theatrical entrances go, it's not something UFC President Dana White cares for. “There’s not many scenarios where fight fans want to see men dancing ever,” said White of the idea. However, with the title unification set to be one of the biggest fights of 2019, he changed his mind and let the interim champion give something special to the fans. “It’s such a huge part of his life and who he is,” White said when he was presented with the idea. “I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

“Dancers, I feel have the best muscle memory on the planet,” Adesanya told ESPN and there might be some truth to that. After all, Bruce Lee was a decorated cha-cha dancer in Hong Kong before he became the iconic martial artist that is credited for the boom of martial arts films today. He likened the drilling for moves from dancing to what is done in the gym when training for competition. Both fighting and dancing are forms of art, and while mixed martial arts is brutal, there's something artfully entertaining to what the competitors train their bodies to do.

"For me the belt really wasn’t the goal, I already knew I was going to do that," reflected Adesanya on his title win. "The goal is to create iconic moments in this game."

Edward Carbajal serves as the lead MMA analyst for Frontproof Media and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in Ishin Ryu karate. He has covered combat sports since 2014 and has been a fan of MMA since the first UFC. You can follow him on Twitter @Carbazel or at his website TheBlogBoardJungle.com.
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