Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989), known as The Last Stylebender, is a Nigerian New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and a former two time UFC Middleweight Champion. Before transitioning to MMA he was a Glory Middleweight kickboxing title challenger. As of 31 March 2026 he was ranked number 9 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Industry estimates place Adesanya’s 2026 net worth in the $15 million to $25 million range.
Born in Lagos and raised in New Zealand, Adesanya built his elite striking on a professional kickboxing career before moving to mixed martial arts. His long middleweight reign placed African representation at the very top of a global combat sport. His fights combined technical mastery with genuine showmanship.
He has consistently used his platform to celebrate his Nigerian roots. For a generation of African fighters and fans, he showed that the path to a UFC title was possible.
Profile at a glance
Full name
Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya
Fighting name
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya
Date of birth
22 July 1989
Age (2026)
36 (turns 37 on 22 July 2026)
Birthplace
Lagos, Nigeria
Heritage
Yoruba
Nationality
Nigerian and New Zealand (dual)
Discipline
Mixed martial arts (former kickboxer and boxer)
Promotion
UFC, Middleweight division
UFC titles
Two time UFC Middleweight Champion
Net worth (2026 estimate)
~$15m to $25m (industry estimate, not verified)
Background and early life
Adesanya was born in Lagos and lived in Nigeria for the first ten years of his life before his family relocated to Rotorua, New Zealand in 1999. He took up kickboxing as a teenager after watching anime characters with martial arts skills, a story he has retold often. He competed in the New Zealand amateur kickboxing circuit through his late teens before turning professional and racking up a kickboxing record that included multiple international title bouts and a January 2017 challenge for the Glory Middleweight Championship.
UFC career
Adesanya signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in early 2018. He worked his way to a UFC Middleweight title shot in 18 months, capturing the interim title against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in April 2019 in what was widely regarded as one of the best UFC fights of that decade. He unified the title against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in Melbourne in October 2019.
His first reign ran from 2019 to November 2022, with successful defences against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori (twice), Jared Cannonier, and a rematch with Whittaker. He lost the belt to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on 12 November 2022 in a fifth round stoppage. The rematch at UFC 287 in April 2023 saw Adesanya regain the title by knockout, beginning a second reign that ran until September 2023, when he lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
Adesanya took a brief sabbatical in 2024 before returning to the middleweight rankings through 2025.
Kickboxing career before the UFC
Before signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in early 2018, Adesanya compiled a professional kickboxing record of 75 wins and 5 losses (27 of them by knockout or technical knockout), competing primarily in New Zealand, Australia, and China. He challenged Jason Wilnis for the Glory Middleweight Championship at Glory 37 in Los Angeles on 20 January 2017, losing a unanimous decision that drew boos from the arena, and he also challenged for the Hex Fight Series Middleweight title. His kickboxing style, built on extended striking range and unorthodox movement, formed the basis of the MMA approach he later took into the UFC, where his striking has remained the most decorated dimension of his game.
The Alex Pereira rivalry
Adesanya’s professional history with Alex Pereira is one of the more unusual rivalries in modern combat sport, spanning both kickboxing and MMA. Pereira beat Adesanya twice as a kickboxer (Glory of Heroes 1 in 2016 by decision, and Glory of Heroes 7 in 2017 by knockout). The pair re-met in MMA at UFC 281 on 12 November 2022, where Pereira stopped Adesanya in the fifth round to take the UFC Middleweight Championship. Their rematch at UFC 287 on 8 April 2023 saw Adesanya knock Pereira out in the second round, reclaiming the belt and becoming the only UFC Middleweight Champion to twice regain the title. He lost the belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023, and dropped a decision in his rematch against Dricus du Plessis in 2024 before taking a sabbatical and returning through 2025.
Net worth and income
Industry estimates place Adesanya’s net worth in the $15 million to $25 million range as of 2026. UFC fighter pay is heavily backloaded toward pay per view champions, and Adesanya’s run at the top of middleweight produced multiple seven figure title fight purses. Endorsement deals include Engage Hemp (apparel and equipment), STMNT Grooming, and a long term Puma deal. As with all such figures, these are estimates from public reporting on disclosed purses and brand deals, not verified personal accounts, and not financial advice.
Why Israel Adesanya matters
Israel Adesanya’s long middleweight reign and mainstream stardom put African representation at the very top of a global combat sport. He has consistently used his platform to celebrate his Nigerian roots, showing a generation of African fighters that the path from the continent to a UFC title and worldwide fame was possible.
Questions readers ask
Is Israel Adesanya Nigerian or New Zealander? Both. He was born in Lagos, holds dual citizenship, and lived in New Zealand from age ten onward.
How many UFC titles has Adesanya won? He is a two time UFC Middleweight Champion, with reigns from 2019 to 2022 and again in 2023.
What is Adesanya’s fighting nickname? The Last Stylebender, a reference to the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
What is Israel Adesanya’s net worth in 2026? Industry estimates place it at $15m to $25m. Estimates from public reporting, not verified.
Conclusion
He left Lagos for Rotorua with his family in 1999, at ten, and came to kickboxing as a teenager after watching martial arts anime. He built a professional kickboxing record of 75 wins and 5 losses, 27 of them by knockout, across New Zealand, Australia and China. The extended striking range and unorthodox movement he developed there became the basis of everything he later did in the cage.
The UFC signed him in early 2018 and he took the interim middleweight title from Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in April 2019, in one of the division’s best fights of the decade. He unified against Robert Whittaker in Melbourne that October. The reign held until November 2022, turning back Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori twice and Jared Cannonier along the way.
Alex Pereira, who had already beaten him twice in kickboxing, stopped him in the fifth round at UFC 281 to take the title. Adesanya knocked Pereira out in the second at UFC 287 the following April, making him the only middleweight champion to regain the belt twice. Losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis preceded a 2024 sabbatical, with Engage Hemp, STMNT Grooming and Puma sustaining his commercial profile through the rebuild.
Max Adeyemi is a Lagos-based writer covering Nigerian and African entertainment, sport, business, and culture. He has spent over a decade tracking the careers, controversies, and quiet achievements of the people who move the culture. He writes all profiles on Nolly.
