Nigeria-born Mixed Martial Artiste Israel Adesanya has revealed that he cried after he defeated Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 to retain his middleweight crown.
Adesanya, fondly called the Last Stylebender, admitted that he was not pleased with his performance and he could not hide his feelings backstage.
The 33-year-old who is also a citizen of New Zealand is yet to be knocked down in the UFC since he joined the MMA promotion company in 2017 and he holds a record of 23 wins and one loss.
“I don’t hold onto things, I let myself feel them,” Adesanya said on The MMA Hour. “People try to deny things and block it, [but] if you fight your emotions, they’ll get you later on. So, I feel it.
“So, I expressed it, feel it, and I let it go. It’s a good way to release emotions… it relaxes you. It’s just a normal human function, I don’t know why we shame it.”
Adesanya is scheduled to face former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 event at the Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Pereira and the Last Stylebender have a long history in kickboxing with the Nigerian losing twice in their previous meetings.
