Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson recently expressed his keen desire to fight Israel Adesanya in the cage and called out the Nigerian-born Kiwi for a showdown.
Johnson was one of the biggest personalities in the NFL over the course of his storied 11-year career as a wide receiver. He notably played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots during his time in the league. After retiring, Johnson joined the ‘Inside The NFL’ show as a panelist and has also tried his hand at sports such as soccer and boxing.
During the UFC 327 weigh-in show, ‘Ochocinco’ claimed that he wanted to try competing in MMA and asked Daniel Cormier to suggest an opponent for him. After Cormier suggested Adesanya as a potential matchup, Johnson replied:
“I like that! ‘Izzy’ Adesanya, I don’t want any excuses. Come get this belt. Come get this belt. Me and you, five minutes, three rounds. Anywhere. Matter of fact, I’ll come to New Zealand. I don’t have a passport. Nevermind. Come to Miami.”
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He added:
“I would really like the matchup with Adesanya, though. I’m serious. To be able to get the best out of me and what I can do, even though it’s not my sport. But I’m good enough to survive and be able to strike. Ground game, eh, shaky.”
Robert Whittaker shares key advice for Israel Adesanya after four straight losses
Robert Whittaker recently shared his thoughts on Israel Adesanya losing his last four fights in a row. Adesanya is coming off a second-round knockout loss against Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle last month. In his previous three outings, he lost to Nassourdine Imavov, Dricus du Plessis, and Sean Strickland.
In a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, Whittaker said that Adesanya needed to rediscover his “hunger” for the game:
“I think he needs to find that hunger. It’s easy to say he may be a little comfortable at the moment. He’s got money, he’s reached the top of the mountain, he’s done everything. He’s ticked every box. What is there he needs to achieve anymore?”
He added:
“He needs to find that drive to continue doing what he’s doing, to continue to light that fire, that hunger, that love for the game. I don’t think it was a bad thing. We all learn from our losses, and I think this is a good point for him to just make those decisions and work out where he needs to go and what he wants to do.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]
Edited by Nishant Zende.
