Poatan, Borrachinha? Adesanya surprises and reveals his favorite exchange of barbs in the UFC.

Adesanya promotes UFC event. Photo: Press release/Facebook/UFC

Without fighting since February 2025, Israel Adesanya returns to action this Saturday (28) and in a different way. The Nigerian headlines UFC Seattle against Joe Pyfer and, unlike what happened in much of his career, he has no rivalry with his opponent. In any case, as he has been involved in heated discussions with rivals over the years, the former king of middleweight (up to 83,9 kg), revealed the one that amused him the most.

In an interview with the YouTube channel 'FULL SEND MMA', Adesanya ignored the long history of animosity with Alex Poatan and highlighted that the exchanges of barbs with Derek Brunson , Marvin Vettori , and Paulo Borrachinha were different, but chose the one with the Italian as his favorite. It's worth noting that the Nigerian has fought his rival twice and won both fights, both in the octagon and in trash talk.

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And the choice of "The Last Stylebender" is justified. After being provoked, Adesanya, with clever insights and witty remarks, easily "got inside the head" of "The Italian Dream," making him freak out during the interactions.

“Of those three, wow, those were really good. Okay, my favorite exchange of barbs, whether on the microphone or in person, I’d say it was with Vettori. It was fun because it was so easy to provoke him. A hug for him. I have no problem with him. I wish him all the best, but, wow, it was so easy to irritate him,” said the MMA legend.

“And I understand him, because I went through that in my personal life. You can't overreact. You have to learn to accept things as they are. It was a good lesson messing with Vettori. So, thank you, Vettori. I appreciate that,” he concluded.

Adesanya's fighters in MMA

Israel Adesanya , 36, made history as the UFC middleweight champion (up to 83,9 kg) and became an MMA legend. The Nigerian began his career in the sport in 2012, debuted in the company in 2018, and won the belt in 2019. In his first reign in the division, the renowned striker defended the title five times.

In this discipline, the athlete built a record of 24 wins, 16 by knockout, and five losses. His main victories were over Alex Poatan , Anderson Silva , Derek Brunson , Jared Cannonier , Kelvin Gastelum , Marvin Vettori (twice), Paulo Borrachinha , Robert Whittaker (twice), and Yoel Romero.

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