In 2018, a new arrival stepped foot inside the Octagon for what would be a star-making year.
It was immediately clear that there was something special about Israel Adesanya which kickboxing fans had known for a long time.
The former two-time middleweight champion is currently on the comeback trail with Adesanya enlisting David Goggins to help him push his mind and body to the limit.
Whilst results haven’t gone his way in recent times, the introduction of ‘The Last Stylebender’ seemed absolutely effortless back at UFC 221.
Adesanya dominated and stopped Australia’s Rob Wilkinson to mark his territory in the UFC before going on to end the year with a record of 4-0.
- READ MORE: Israel Adesanya reveals the real reason he broke down in tears during fiery UFC 305 press conference
Israel Adesanya says he earned six figures for his dominant UFC debut in 2018
What Israel Adesanya was able to accomplish in 2018 and 2019 might never be replicated but his climb to the very top of the sport had to start somewhere.
The elite kickboxer wasn’t thrilled with his debut performance but it was more than enough to get fans excited about his ceiling in mixed martial arts.
Extending his pro record to 12-0, Adesanya dismantled Wilkinson, who would go on to become a PFL world champion, before finally putting him away in the second round.
The devastating display of striking earned ‘The Last Stylebender’ his first performance of the night bonus but as he recently revealed on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, his purse was already way higher than what your regular UFC debutant will take home.
Adesanya had a lot of hype around him with the likes of Joe Rogan helping to champion him as a potential star in the making.
The 35-year-old revealed that his financial reward from UFC 221 was drastically higher than the fairly standard contract that many new recruits will be met with.
“My UFC debut, I didn’t make the 10 and 10 like everyone else, I made six figures and then I made a 50k bonus on top of that. Stole the show from, who was the main event? Rockhold versus Yoel I believe. I felt like I stole the show, people were talking about me and I was f—— on top of the world.”
Israel Adesanya came crashing down after his emphatic UFC debut
During his appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Israel Adesanya opened up about the struggles that came immediately after his UFC debut.
The highs of putting on a show at UFC 221 and getting his hand raised didn’t last and whilst this is something that he has become used to dealing with, it was a new experience at the time.
“I’d go home and I’d just f—— crash. I didn’t understand. For me, that’s when I started going to therapy because I realized like okay, this is, I don’t want to say this is bad but it was bad. I was like damn, I shouldn’t be sad and then you feel guilty for feeling sad.”
Over time, the future Hall of Famer has become better equipped to deal with this stimulus and how to wind down from the constant spotlight of a fight week.
Whilst there doesn’t appear to be any plans in place at this moment, it does look like Adesanya will return to the Octagon in the near future in search of one more highlight.