'Naruto': UFC Star Channels Rock Lee, Gaara In Recent Match

When it comes to all-out fighting, fans turns to UFC to get their fix, but there are plenty who [...]

When it comes to all-out fighting, fans turns to UFC to get their fix, but there are plenty who also look to anime to satisfy the craving. Shonen titles like Dragon Ball are all sorts of famous for their extravagant battles, but it is Naruto inspiring one top-tier UFC fighter these days.

Recently, Israel 'The Stylebender' Adesanya took to Instagram to hype his part in UFC 234. The event pitted the fighter against Anderson Silva, a UFC Middleweight champion, but Adesanya wasn't scared of the match.

After all, as you can see below, Adesanya fancied himself as Rock Lee from one of Naruto's most iconic episodes.

Adesanya posted a motion poster hyping his UFC 234 fight that turned him into Rock Lee. The piece used an image of Stylebender from his weigh-in for the big match. When put up against Silva, Adesanya slid into a familiar pose which Rock Lee assumed in his own fights.

"Back basix [sic]," the fighter teased before namedropping Naruto episode 48. "I open the gates as he winds back the sands of time in the main event of the evening!!"

For anime fans, they will remember this Naruto episode as it took place during the 'Chunin Exam' arc. After teams worked their way through the Forest of Death, they did one-on-one battles to further thin the herd. It was there Rock Lee faced off against Gaara, a crazed ninja from the Hidden Sand with a totally impenetrable defense. The heralded fight is often regarded as one of the anime's best ever, and it saw Rock Lee take Gaara down a peg though he lost in the end.

Fortunately for Adesanya, he did not suffer the same fate as Rock Lee. He was able to defeat Silva at UFC 234, so it is up to you to decide if the man is ready to be promoted to Chunin rank now.

So, would you give the UFC star a promotion after this fight? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.

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