Israel Adesanya is still pushing for harsher penalties for coward punches. 

The UFC Middleweight Champion took off the gloves to chat to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking this morning.  

Earlier this year he urged Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to toughen the laws following the death of his City Kickboxing teammate Fau Vake.  

“I don't hang out with anyone who is willing to do or would engage in that kind of behaviour” he told Mike Hosking.  

The fighter returned to New Zealand in June and says he’s now “upgrading the software.”  

When asked if changing weight division was a mistake, due to it ending a significant winning streak, an emphatic “f**k no” was his response.  

Instead, he was philosophical about the loss and said he’d both fight in that class again and at some point, win.  

He has a few months to kill before his next fight and in the meantime is focusing on upgrading his martial arts skill levels. 

But until his next fight Adesanya is also “diving into other things [he] likes in life.”  

He cheekily plugged his YouTube channel Freestylebender and when Hosking asked if he experienced any censorship issues with YouTube said he gets to say what he wants. 

Adesanya also opened up about what wanting to have kids once he’s finished fighting and what kind of father he’d be.  

“After I’m done with fighting, all I’m going to do is dedicate my life to my kids. I’m going to home-school them and everyday have a tutor come in from 9-1."  

Being an athlete, he’s also got a fitness programme in mind. “They’re going to do gymnastics so they can have awareness of their body and jujitsu so they can socialize […] so, I’ve kind of planned this already” He sheepishly admitted. 

Adesanya is a big believer in honour too, claiming to be one of the few in the game who still honours the code of martial arts.  

But he’s also the first to admit it’s not a game for the squeamish. “At the end of the day I f**k people up for money. Bag loads of money. That’s what I like to do and it’s what I’m really good at.”