Business of Sport: the curious backlash against Israel Adesanya

Supporters say Israel Adesanya isn't boring – rivals retreat to conservative tactics against him. (Image: Getty)

Fri, 16 Sep 2022

Say what you like about Israel Adesanya but in less than two months from now, the Nigerian-born New Zealander will walk out as the headline act in front of a sellout crowd at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.Is any other individual New Zealander even remotely capable of achieving a feat like that? It will be another multimillion-dollar pay-day for Adesanya who is midway into a massive contract as a pin-up superstar of the money-spinning UFC martial arts empire.UFC is not for everybody, I get it. My own interest lies more...

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