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14h40 – Short time to go now, fans fighting the NZ. Jason Knight and Jordan Rinaldi have just completed the first round of their competition in what will be the last fight of the preliminary undercard before going on to pay programming.
Kia Ora and welcome to Madison Square Garden. New Zealander Derek Brunson will face Derek Brunson in UFC 230.
The main card will be titled by Dan Cormier, who will attempt to defend his heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis.
But for New Zealand combat fans, it all depends on the fortune of "The Last Stylebender" who will attempt to take a step forward in the UFC middleweight standings with a win over wrestler Brunson.
The combat-by-combat cover will begin around 3 pm In the meantime, watch the video above for an overview of the confrontation today.
Head-to-head:
Israel Adesanya ($ 1.30) vs Derek Brunson ($ 3.30)
Chris Weidman ($ 1.55) vs Ronaldo Souza ($ 2.35)
Dan Cormier ($ 1.18) vs. Derrick Lewis ($ 4.50)
Main fight card:
Jason Knight against Jordan Rinaldi
Israel Adesanya vs Derek Brunson
Karl Roberson against Jack Marshman
David Branch vs. Jared Canonier
Chris Weidman against Jacare Souza
Daniel Cormier against Derrick Lewis
Banter before game
State of New York spirit: Israel Adesanya talks about UFC 230, dreams of a title and launches with Joe Rogan
By Stephen Foote
The phenomenon Israel Adesanya, Kiwi MMA, has experienced a dizzying ascent.
The UFC fighter, known as "The Last Stylebender", has won three consecutive wins on the biggest stage of the sport in 2018, becoming an instant fan favorite with his mix of keystrokes and magnetic characters .
But Adesanya really realized how much he was stealing now – in more ways than one – at a meeting of another kind.
"I went to [Joe Rogan’s] Green Room during his humorous show last year and I was hanging out with him, and they were touring the joint, "Adesanya told Newshub.
"I checked for a second, thinking 'I'm in Joe Rogan's green room smoking a joint – agree'. All this famous facade is gone and I'm I had the feeling that I belonged to it. "
This meeting resulted in an appearance on the podcast of comedian and commentator UFC – The Joe Rogan Experience – one of the most popular podcasts in the world, recording more than 30 million downloads per month.
This apparition was a return to a previous chapter of his life, when a wide-eyed Adesanya endured a 9-5 year-old existence during the day and was trained at night.
"This podcast has avoided me going to post with my old job," he said. "It saved me from the monotony of all this worldly shit.
"I would just laugh in his ear. My boss hated it, but I always found a way – to make hoodies, no matter what.
"Going from there to being on the podcast and talking shit with him, drinking whiskey – it was cool, something I can just check off the to-do list."
Sunday (New Zealand time), Adesanya has an excellent opportunity to take a giant step towards another element on this list: a UFC World Title.
The 28-year-old will face Derek Brunson at the legendary Madison Square Garden of UFC230 in New York. This is only the third time that the historic headquarters of Fights Sports is hosting an MMA event, after the definitive ban on promotion in 2016.
"Since that happened, the ban has been lifted, so it's cool that we can continue the tradition of fighting sports in New York," said Adensaya.
"You can see boxing, kickboxing – but the future of combat sports is a mixed martial art.
"It's the real fighting test, it's the new age gladiator sport, people just need to bring that money here."
The UFC has made Adesanya a star since its debut, following Rob Wilkinson's first-round knockout in Perth.
His most recent victory – a three-round dismantling of Brad Tavares – was featured as the main event. He then joined a group of fighters of choice for making such a quick climb. This group includes, among others, the transcendent Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
Adesanya is not one to fear the spotlight. In fact, he adopted it with the unbridled confidence that has contributed to his success so far.
"I feel more comfortable, I belong and I am supposed to be here," he said. "I feel that none of these guys are better than me.
"I'm the guy they're all watching, it's just driving – it's not greedy, it's just driving."
"Many people, especially in Kiwi culture, tend to downplay their own achievements in order to put others at ease.
"I'm not trends, I'm creating my own trends, I'm the guy who's going to say what he wants to do and I'm going to stand aside, and if I fall on the face and that I eat shit, so it's cool.
"Whenever that happens, I always know that everything will be fine, that's my saving salvation.
"I know that whatever it is, it's only temporary, everything will be fine, I'll come back and I'll dominate."
It's there that Chief Trainer Eugene Bareman – the City Kickboxing Brain – Auckland's Hunting Factory, has experienced the strongest growth in Adesanya, the ## 147 ## 39, one of four fighters under contract from the UFC in his stable.
"Israel has been sidelined and chosen as a potential star, so its obligations to the media are enormous," Bareman said.
"He meets them all fully, he is doing very well, but it's a huge distraction for someone who can not necessarily handle all that, especially the fight week."
"Dealing with that – the bright lights, the pressure, the big stage – it's something that he's already been treated to, but not as such." It's there that he's the most progressed. "
And the "big apple" will be the biggest stage ever played for Adesanya (14-0), still undefeated, to present its products, with more important issues than ever before.
The current middleweight landscape has a strong propensity for the Kiwi in ninth place. A defeat of former champion Chris Weidman against Jacare Souza the same night in New York, coupled with the cancellation of Yoel Romero's fight against Diego Costa and the injury of Luke Rockhold, would ensure that Adesanya leads the line to challenge Australia's NZ-born Robert Whittaker for the belt.
Of course, Adesanya must overcome the significant challenge presented by Brunson (18-6). The 34-year-old American is a dynamic wrestler with exceptional power. He has the gift of attracting opponents in his chaotic style, then catching them at once in a race.
Auckland fans were able to see when he was on the Spark Arena last year and put the lights of Australian Dan Kelly out of the game just one minute into the match.
"It's his biggest loss, but his clumsiness is also his biggest challenge," noted Adesanya.
"I need to be able to calibrate it in the moment, read it in the moment, adapt to what I have to do, and then disassemble it.
"It's random, but even in this random, it still has patterns, so that's it, I can recognize them and these guys," said Adesanya, gesturing to Bareman.
According to Bareman, the solution to Brunson's unorthodox problem lies in one essential element: positioning.
"[Adesanya] He must above all position Brunson, "he notes. This will give him that advantage of a fraction of a second that he will need.
"Brunson has no idea of the position, he is only following his instinct – Israel can have a length ahead of him throughout the fight, if he has a superior position."
Not that Adesanya is too concerned about what her opponent might have in reserve.
"I just worked on myself, just for myself, at the end of the day, I can only be the best of myself and I know, at best, that I can beat any of these guys – any of them at all.
"There has probably been about 35% of the camp members who have been specified based on his habits and what he's going to do, but the rest concerns mixed martial artists."
The two men exchanged many beards before their fight. Adesanya responded to Brunson's guarantee that he would embarrass the "last suitor" by rejecting his "bootleg-Chuck Norris technique".
After a press conference in Los Angeles in August, Adesanya filmed himself taunting Brunson on the other side of the bar, before telling him he could go to the fight "drunk like f ** k and always sucking ass ".
"If you put a figure on us, and you see his style of combat and my style, I can guarantee you that the visuals of people will be more attracted to mine, because mine is beautiful.
"It's a mixed martial art, it's an art.
"You just can not compare, it's not even apples and oranges, it's like the apple and the core of an apple.
"You can plant that and become a seed, but it does not fertile well.
"I want to bang that guy's ass, I want fuckin 'badly."
With a steadily improving ground game, Adesanya is planning another demoralizing defeat for his opponent this weekend.
"I have three [predictions] – first KO round, second KO round or I tear off his neck, "he said. I still see myself tearing his neck.
"He has no chance, it's my fight, it's my fight to lose."
If it went as planned and if Whittaker outweighed Kelvin Gastellum, he did not doubt what was going to happen on the menu.
"I'm getting the belt, we're doing it right here at Spark Arena, I'm going to sell that ball.
"Facts."
Newshub.
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