The former two-time UFC middleweight champion and one of the most prominent officials in the game shared a moment backstage.
Israel Adesanya came into his recent Octagon return in Saudi Arabia without putting too much pressure on himself despite his difficult situation. Regardless of how ‘The Last Stylebender’ sees things, a loss to Nassourdine Imavov would seemingly rule him out of any title conversations for the foreseeable future.
After a decent start to the fight, Adesanya was dropped in the second round with referee Marc Goddard stepping in to wave the main event off.
The man who was previously the undeniable king at 185-pounds protested the stoppage in the immediate aftermath of the fight but his opinion has changed now that he has been able to distance himself from it.
- READ MORE: Alex Pereira extends generous invite to Israel Adesanya while sitting cageside at UFC 312
Israel Adesanya and Marc Goddard show each other mutual respect in UFC 312 encounter
Israel Adesanya was in attendance for UFC 312 this past weekend at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney where he certainly had an eventful night.
In a video posted by the former champ on his social media channels, he came across Marc Goddard whilst walking around backstage.
The two men stopped for a moment to share a brief exchange regarding the fight that took place just over a week ago with the conversation being captured on video.
Adesanya gave Goddard plenty of credit for the stoppage after the prominent official looked to apologize to him when their paths crossed.
“Hey, I’ll tell you one thing, the one in New York I was like ehh but this was good, you know why? I wasn’t there. I was moving but it was all instincts.”
Goddard responded, making it clear that the feeling is mutual between them.
“I saw mate. Listen man, I say it all the time, I don’t want to stop any fights. Never. I respect you.”
Israel Adesanya is always humble in defeat
Israel Adesanya put together a pro MMA record of 20-0 before suffering the first defeat of his career at UFC 259 where he went up to light heavyweight to challenge Jan Blachowicz.
However, the mentality of ‘The Last Stylebender’ in regards to setbacks has followed him from his kickboxing career where every defeat is a learning experience and an opportunity to reflect.
Adesanya did protest the stoppage of his first fight with Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in New York, as he referenced in the conversation with Goddard but he didn’t hold onto it.
Just like his reaction to the Imavov stoppage just one week after it happened, the former champion is able to put the past behind him, look at it from a new perspective and then move on.