The world of mixed martial arts and the individual arts that comprise it seem more intertwined than ever. 

The availability of a stream of pure grappling and pure striking arts allows for not only greater exposure but for a higher likelihood of crossover stars than ever before. 

After making a statement in kickboxing, one such crossover has made his stamp on local MMA and is ready to take it to the big time. With over 80 kickboxing bouts under his belt, Israel Adesanya jumped ship over to MMA in 2012 and has been unstoppable since. 

Although he’s been wildly successful (11-0 with 11 (T)KOs), the question still remains: Why would he leave a sport where he was already so successful? 

Adesanya sat down with the Top Turtle MMA Podcast on FloCombat to discuss why he’s made MMA his full-time passion. 

“I took the hard road and did MMA because I like the challenge,” Adesanya said. “If I were going to take the easy route, I would have stayed kickboxing and done what the blueprint is: fight some bums, get my record padded up and then start to pick off the top guys slowly.”

Not only was MMA fundamentally different than kickboxing, but the structure of how a champion rises in MMA is different as well. 

And that structure of taking dozens of fights with "bums" is part of what lead Adesanya away from his original sport. His love for martial arts was born of knowing he is able to protect himself, and the way kickboxing brings up a fighter just didn’t allow him to feel that. 

Plus, there was the fact that he felt it was holding him back from being a complete mixed martial artist. 

“I never liked feeling vulnerable in any situation,” he said. “I feel like if I’m a great boxer, if I’m a great kickboxer, a guy with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu background or a great wrestling background can catch me.”

Knocks on his grappling are something Adesanya is acutely aware of. It’s not uncommon for a former kickboxer to be criticized for his ground abilities. However, it’s something he’s already comfortable with. 

“I’m very confident [in my grappling] and I keep getting more confident every day," he said. “Over the years, I’ve fought some crazy good ground guys.”

One instance brought to mind came against a Russian sambo champion he faced en route to his 11-0 record. He recalls the feeling of being taken down but then using it to his advantage.

“Once [my opponent] took me down, I got back up, he took me back down and I got back up," Adensaya said. "Then he tried to take me down and he couldn't get me down. By the second round, I saw that panic in his eye, like, 'Fu*k, what am I going to do now?'" 

And that’s a feeling Adesanya expects from plenty of fighters here in the UFC.

“If that’s their plan, to just get me down, they’re in for a long -- or short -- night.”