At UFC 287, Israel Adesanya managed to secure his long-awaited vengeance against his nemesis Alex Pereira. A former UFC legend gave Izzy high accolades in spite of the criticism that Adesanya’s enigmatic celebration stirred in the MMA world.
The highly awaited middleweight title fight between The Last Stylebender and Alex Pereira took place in the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, on April 8. Izzy finally got even with Pereira, his foe since the kickboxing days, and at the same time made a splash with his unique celebration.
🥶 Left him frozen like Elsa #letitgo 🎶 ⛸️✨ pic.twitter.com/YAOR63oeSM
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) April 9, 2023
Izzy’s celebration, which was meant to ridicule Poatan, was well-liked by many MMA fans. One person who spoke about the celebration and appreciated the fighter from Nigeria for switching sides was Chael Sonnen.
What did Chael Sonnen have to say regarding the Israel Adesanya celebration?
In the most recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, the submission grappling promoter appeared as a guest. The two MMA analysts, discussed various elements of UFC 287, including Israel Adesanya’s celebration.
“I think he went heel — and it’s a big deal. If he has gone heel, it matters. And the reason I say that is when they throw to them backstage and Izzy’s trying to cheer up what’s-his-name, and Izzy is telling him, ‘Hey, great job, you’ll always be a champion to me,’ said Sonnen.
Chael Sonnen loved Israel Adesanya turning ‘heel’ at UFC 287, mocking Alex Pereira’s son: ‘That was beautiful work’ https://t.co/iFGiGAvbFQ pic.twitter.com/aCSw3iVRgF
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) April 10, 2023
One can only hypothesize on Israel Adesanya’s strong desire to get revenge on long-time foe Alex Pereira. But nonetheless, in the post-fight press conference, Izzy demonstrated exceptional humility and humbleness and gave his arch-enemy the credit he deserved. This is what Sonnen loved about Izzy.
“Then he goes into a post-fight press conference, he says, ‘Everything is square in the world. Forget that he beat me three times and took everything I wanted and ran me out of a sport and beat me in front of the world, Madison Square Garden. I’ve won this one time.” Sonnen added.
"The Biggest Fight the UFC can book right now is Israel Adesanya x Jon Jones"
Agree?@arielhelwani / @ChaelSonnen
(@stylebender x @JonnyBones) pic.twitter.com/OYO4jIgVhJ— No Context Ariel Helwani (@NoContextAriel) April 10, 2023
In kickboxing, the Last Stylebender battled the Brazilian fighter twice and was defeated both times. When Izzy and Pereira met in UFC 281, Izzy was defeated once more. In UFC 287, Israel finally showed the world how to exact vengeance and refute everyone. The 46-year-old MMA expert loves this particular characteristic of Adesanya.
“That was beautiful work. That’s really good stuff right there. I mean, he was owed it. That was good stuff. I just thought it was great. I really did.” Sonnen continued.
What do you think about Adesanya reclaiming the throne once more? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
