Israel Adesanya Wants To Compete In The WWE: ‘I Looked Up To Those Guys’

Israel Adesanya says he will definitely link up with the WWE someday.

The UFC middleweight champion has just committed his long-term future to the MMA leader by signing a new bumper deal but that hasn’t stopped him from looking ahead to what might come down the line.

During a recent interview with talkSPORT, Adesanya revealed that he was a massive fan of professional wrestling growing up and expressed his desire to one day compete in the WWE.

“I looked up to those guys as a kid. I used to jump off the couch armrest and backflip onto David [his camera guy],” Adesanya said.

“I broke my arm a couple of times. We was taking bumps back in the day [laughs]. But definitely I will do that before I’m done. 

“You might just see me sneak up from under the ring one day like ‘what the f***!’ That’s not Hornswoggle!’

Israel Adesanya Admits He Gets Starstruck Around The Rock

At this point, Adesanya is an MMA superstar who is often mixing with some of the most famous people in sport and entertainment.

However, ‘Stylebender’ admits that encountering WWE legend Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson left him somewhat starstruck.

“The Rock, that will take a few meetings to go away. I still get starstruck by him, but I’m cool. I’m not going to like jump him or anything,” Adesanya said.

“Even with Joe Rogan, when I first met Joe I was starstruck. It probably took two or three interactions until you humanise them to you.

“But The Rock will take a while to go away because it’s still The Rock!”

Adesanya is fresh off the fourth defence of his middleweight title. The 32-year-old picked up a unanimous decision victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 earlier this month. ‘Stylebender’ is expected to defend his title once again in June, Jared Cannonier rumoured to be his next opponent.

When do you think we’ll see Israel Adesanya link up with the WWE?