Francis Ngannou and Alexander Volkanovski go wild for Israel Adesanya’s win at UFC 287

Alexander Volkanovski and Francis Ngannou enjoyed seeing Israel Adesanya reclaim his title at UFC 287.

By: Kristen King | 6 months ago
Francis Ngannou and Alexander Volkanovski go wild for Israel Adesanya’s win at UFC 287
April 9, 2022, Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States: JACKSONVILLE, FL - APRIL 9: Alexander Volkanovski prepares to fight Chan Sung Jung in their Featherweight fight during the UFC 273 event at Vystar Memorial Arena on April 9, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Jacksonville, Florida United States - ZUMAp175 20220409_zsa_p175_197 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex

Alexander Volkanovski and Francis Ngannou were fired up after seeing Israel Adesanya dethrone Alex Pereira at UFC 287 this past Saturday. 

Alexander Volkanovski, Francis Ngannou celebrate Israel Adesanya’s win

In their fourth (and potentially final) fight, Adesanya sent Pereira to the shadow realm with a pair of right hands to not only get his revenge, but also reclaim the UFC middleweight championship from his former foe. As the ‘Last Stylebender’ celebrated his win against ‘Po Atan’ with an archer-inspired taunt, his friends — Volkanovski and Ngannou — went crazy. 

In a video shared on Twitter (H/T Justin Golightly), the reigning UFC featherweight champion could barely contain himself seeing his City Kickboxing teammate add another highlight-reel finish to his résumé. 

“SLEEP! SLEEP!,” screamed Volkanovski after the second-round KO. 

Ngannou had a similar reaction (H/T MMAMEDIA), screaming and letting a few expletives fly with his friends. 

“That’s how you get it done!,” exclaimed Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion. 

Israel Adesanya gets revenge against Alex Pereira

As excited as his friends were, there was no one more excited about the win than Adesanya, who finally settled his rivalry with Pereira in the way he envisioned. 

“They say revenge is sweet and if you know me, I’ve got a sweet tooth,” said Adesanya in his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. “This is f—king sweet.

“I told you, the hunter is now the hunted,” continued Adesanya. “I told him before, ‘Thank you. Thank you for all what you’ve done. Thank you for beating me.’ Beating me, he made me a better fighter, a better person. In this camp, I didn’t f—k around…That last one had everything. Since 2017, that last hammer fist was from the Gods.” 

When are Volkanovski and Ngannou back in action?

Following his ‘Fight of the Year’ contender against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 this past February, Volkanovski has his next defense set. At that same event, Yair Rodríguez became the interim UFC featherweight champion with a second-round submission of Josh Emmett. Now, Volkanovski and Rodríguez are expected to unify their titles at UFC 290, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As for Ngannou, he has yet to sign with a new promotion since his departure from the UFC earlier this year. The ‘Predator’ has shifted his focus to boxing against names such as Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, but nothing has come to fruition at this time.

Share this story

About the author
Kristen King
Kristen King

Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016, getting her start with outlets such as FanSided, MyMMANews and MMA-Prospects. She joined the BE team in 2020, covering a mix of news, events and injuries. In her time with BE, Kristen has created ‘Fright of the Night,’ a series that highlights some of the worst injuries in the sport.

More from the author

Bloody Elbow Podcast
Related Stories