Why I don’t touch gloves before UFC fights – Israel Adesanya

UFC champion, Israel Adesanya has explained the reason why he doesn’t touch opponents’ gloves at the start of every fight.

Middleweight Adesanya usually puts his hand on top of his opponent’s fist instead of touching gloves. ‘The Last Stylebender’ said this is a strategic way to not give his opponent any indication of his range before the fight starts.

“I don’t touch gloves, when the fight starts I don’t touch gloves,” Adesanya said on ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. “That’s the first point of contact, you establish the range right away. I don’t want to touch gloves, I’ll establish the range my own way, I don’t want to give them an inch at all.

Adesanya defended his title at UFC 271 in February by outpointing former champion Robert Whittaker in their rematch.

According to Mirror, the build-up to the rematch was very different to their first fight, with Whittaker admitting he acted “out of character” by trying to rile Adesanya up before the title bout.