Israel Adesanya’s knockout loss at UFC Saudi Arabia broke the heart of his number one fan on social media.
The two-time middleweight champion was brutally stopped in the second round by Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday night in Riyadh, marking his fourth loss in five fights. It was his second consecutive stoppage, and he is now contemplating his future in the sport.
As one of MMA’s biggest names, Adesanya has millions of followers across social media. But there are perhaps none better known for supporting him than YouTuber Kenny Okoye, who has made a name reacting to his idol’s fights.
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Israel Adesanya’s number one fan reacts to latest stoppage defeat
As Israel Adesanya was being knocked out in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday, a number of social media accounts were reacting to the action. However, many fans were keen to see the reaction of one particularly major Adesanya fan; Kenny Okoye.
The college athlete is known for his over the top reactions to Adesanya’s victories, and regularly defending his idol in heated online debates. Writing under the X username ‘TruthfulUFCFan’, Okoye has become something of a firebrand on social media.
He didn’t get the resulted he wanted on the night, as he was forced to watch his hero be knocked out in the second round. After initially questioning the stoppage, he admitted defeat, writing in the caption: “This one hurt different man. Still the man, head up, done a lot in this game @Stylebender.”
“That kills me man,” he told the camera after watching a replay of the stoppage. “That’s bad, bro. F***, man, oh my God you can’t get too attached to sports, I’m telling you dude it’s just not worth it honestly, dude… He really got knocked out man.”
Israel Adesanya paid tribute to fan Kenny Okoye during fight week
The respect between Adesanya and Okoye appears to be mutual, as was revealed earlier this week during an interview heading into fight week. The former middleweight champion was asked by CBS Sports if he had heard of his biggest fan, and noted that he really enjoyed his videos.
“I did see his reaction to my last fight and that definitely was one of the ones that made me be a fan of him,” Adesanya explained. “Because he was fully invested and I respect that and I appreciate that, so yeah shout out that.”
Okoye was clearly delighted by the shoutout, releasing an entire video breaking down what he had seen from the famed fighter.
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