Israel Adesanya is looking to take over the UFC.

Israel “The Last Style Bender” Adesanya burst into the MMA consciousness last week with a stellar knockout at UFC 221 in Perth. Although his newfound popularity has gained him plenty of media attention, Israel has been adamant that he’ll be consistent and level-headed.

He told NYTTMMA:

“Everything has been nice and this and that, even when I had my press after the fight and when like 12 cameras came to the gym, people were just waiting to hear what I had to say next and I told them ‘look, this is all nice and stuff. You have a job to do and I have a job to do, I’ll be your media darling, but I just take this all with a grain of salt.’

He was also quick to distance himself from some of the other new contenders in the UFC. Israel is far from green, he has a wealth of high level competitive experience behind him which he says will allow him to rise quickly:

“This is all stuff I’ve prepared for and planned for,” he said. “This feels like déjà vu and I’m just waiting. Don’t protect me, I don’t need it. I’m ready to kick the door down so let’s go all in son.

“Before you swim in the depths of the ocean you got to make sure you can swim with sharks. The difference is I don’t just swim with the sharks, I eat them and that’s what I’m about to do.”

Adesanya says he is already in talks with the UFC to book another opponent. Before his fight in Perth he told media that many fighters had turned him down, and it was difficult to book opponents. Despite this, he is confident he will keep a high activity level and plans to fight frequently to rise as quickly as possible.

Hopefully Israel can find good matchups and prove his grappling, which many speculate could be his Achilles heel. Adesanya says if the UFC can find someone to take him down, he will be eager to show off his ground skills.

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