NIGERIA’S president-elect, Bola Tinubu, and his opponent during the February 25 general elections, Peter Obi, have both sent congratulatory messages to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Israel Adesanya.
The Nigerian mixed martial arts star defeated Alex Pereira via a second round knock to regain his middleweight title at UFC 287 in Miami, Florida, United States of America in the early hours of yesterday.
It was sweet revenge for Adesanya, who has dual Nigerian and New Zealand nationality, after he had lost his title to Pereira last November.
The flamboyant 34-year-old improved his professional record to 24 wins and two losses, and has now beaten every fighter ranked in the top five of the UFC’s middleweight division.
“Congratulations to Isreal Adesanya @stylebender on reclaiming the UFC Middleweight Title,” tweeted Tinubu, the ruling All People’s Congress candidate who was declared the winner of presidential election.
“He never stopped believing in himself and we did not stop believing in him. #NaijaProud.”
Labour Party presidential candidate, who is set to contest the result of the election in court, hailed Adesanya’s resilience in winning back his belt.
“By decisively knocking out his opponent and regaining his UFC Middleweight Title last night, Israel Adesanya @stylebender proved that persistence is the path to reclamation. Congratulations valiant Champion!” Obi wrote, signing off the tweet with ‘PO’ to indicate that it was written personally by him, not his aides.
Adesanya’s win was widely celebrated by Nigerians across political parties and other divisions, briefly uniting the country that has been split by politics in recent weeks.
Afrobeats star Adekunle Gold was at ringside during the fight, along with UFC champion Kamaru Usman and American football star David Njoku.
Adesanya went over to them after his victory as they celebrated their kinsman’s big win.
“Super congratulations to ISREAL ADESANYA. #UFC #Champ,” Peter Okoye of famous singing duo P Square tweeted, attaching the Nigerian flag.
