“We have to showcase the team,” Adesanya said. We have to showcase what we’ve done well, how we’ve grown. Dan (Hooker) was a first for my team in the UFC, and look at us now. It’s historic, and I really hope people can really pay attention right now and just really soak it in because there’s eras in the fight game. Right now, with MMA, I feel like there’s a resurgence in New Zealand combat sports. I really hope people pay attention, not just the world, but that the Kiwis really pay attention and just realize this a special moment in time because one day it’s going to be gone and then it’ll be another how many years before it comes back again.”
Preview Every Fight On UFC 293
UFC 293 represents the second pay-per-view in Australia for the mixed martial arts leader in 2023 following UFC 284: Makhachev vs Volkanovski. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski’s bid for double-champ status came up short, but it inspired Adesanya ahead of his rematch with Pereira, and he hopes to bring that same energy to Sydney.
The bout is Adesanya’s first in the Oceania region since he unified the middleweight title against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in Melbourne. That card broke UFC’s attendance record, and while Sydney won’t have the same capacity, Adesanya wants to deliver a barnburner all the same.
