Israel Adesanya channeled his inner Michael Jordan in a number of ways at UFC 287 on Saturday night.
For starters, he came up super clutch in what was potentially his last shot at not only regaining the middleweight title, but also earning redemption after his emphatic knockout of Alex Pereira gave him his first win over his rival in their ongoing series.
Adesanya appeared to be hurt and backed into a corner by Pereira, but he showed his heart and determination to not only survive, but end the fight dramatically by putting the Brazilian's lights out.
But it was after the knockout that Adesanya really let loose. He proceeded to celebrate by shooting multiple arrows at an unconscious Pereira — a reference to Pereira's patented pre-fight entrance taunt and the theme of “The Last Stylebender” being the hunter instead of the huntee.
Adesanya then proceeded to point at someone in the crowd and drop to the floor stiff as a board to mock Pereira's knockout defeat. Many at the event claimed it was directed at Pereira's son and if that was the case, it was likely revenge after the latter did the same to Adesanya following his knockout defeat to Pereira in kickboxing back in 2017.
This was confirmed by the New Zealander later at the press conference.
When a fan edited a video showing how Adesanya mocking Pereira's son was a full circle moment, the new middleweight king quote retweeted it with a notable Jordan quote from The Last Dance documentary.
“‘…and I took that personally.' – Michael Jordan,” Adesanya tweeted.
Adesanya didn't stop there either. He also retweeted a fan's tweet earlier using a meme of Jordan saying “f**k them kids.”
All in all, it was a very satisfying night for Israel Adesanya.
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