Before defending his UFC middleweight belt against former kickboxing foe Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya received an Everton jersey autographed by Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi.
‘The Last Stylebender’ is seeking revenge for two defeats he suffered in kickboxing against Pereira, who is known for knocking him down so severely that he needed an oxygen mask in 2017.
After 21 professional fights and an incredible 20 victories, Adesanya is the undisputed 185-pound champion and one of the most well-known fighters in MMA five years later.
Pereira only officially retired from kickboxing in 2020, but he already has a crack at the middleweight championship after improving his record to 6-1 with a first-round knockout victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 276.
Adesanya got a wonderful gift from Molly McCann, a UFC flyweight contender and ardent Everton supporter, ahead of the most anticipated battle of his life.
The MMA fighter is shown giving Adesanya an autographed Everton shirt in a video that was uploaded to his Instagram page, explaining that it was signed by his fellow Nigerian Iwobi.
McCann said: “I got you Alex Iwobi. So, he’s from your Nigerian soccer team and I got him to sign you that… I just thought a brother from where I am from supporting you.”
Before parting ways and carrying on with their respective preparations for the most recent pay-per-view event of the MMA leader, the two UFC stars shared an embrace.
Iwobi wrote a note to the Nigerian-New Zealander and McCann on his official Instagram story on Thursday, with the caption: “All love! Goodluck with your fights. @meatbolly @stylebender.”
The Super Eagles star will make his Toffees debut on Saturday against Bournemouth in their penultimate matchup before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this month.
Adesanya is aware of the challenges he has and is unlikely to take any significant chances in the face of Pereira’s potent onslaught. Despite the fact that Adesanya has three times as many MMA victories as his opponent, Pereira clearly understands how to fight.
