Israel Adesanya Received A Heart Touching Gift From Muhammad Ali's Team Following To His Loss To Alex Pereira

Following his TKO loss to competitor Alex Pereira at UFC 281, Israel Adesanya was treated to a pleasant surprise by the squad of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

This past weekend, old kickboxing foe Pereira ended the three-year reign of Israel Adesanya as the middleweight champion of the UFC. Adesanya lost through TKO for the first time in his professional MMA career, but he handled it well and showed dignity by giving “Poatan” the proper credit.

Israel Adesanya Received A Heart Touching Gift From Muhammad Ali’s Team Following To His Loss To Alex Pereira

The renowned Muhammad Ali was another superstar in combat sports, and when he lost his title in 1971, he, too, displayed a tremendous personality and grace. The late champion’s family and crew have a tendency always to support other winners who adhere to Ali’s principles. Adesanya was the ideal fit for this description and received a pleasant surprise from victor. Muhammad Ali keeps imparting life lessons even after passing on.

The past can be a great teacher." – Aang 🍃
Got this gift from the greatest of all time’s team. The compliments I got from them about dealing with this weekend filled me with pride. Thank you for this gift oh great one. I will always be inspired by your spirit, forever. 😚 pic.twitter.com/lSOpIuRaDq

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 17, 2022

A delightful surprise from the team was a cover note that included a quote from the boxing GOAT following his first professional loss against Joe Frazier.

Kamaru Usman ❌
Charles Oliveira ❌
Israel Adesanya ❌

The UFC landscape has changed in 2022 #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/ElJQRSIPuc

— Erimus Sports (@ErimusSports) November 13, 2022

As a response to this, Muhammad Ali’s team sent him a message from the late champ that read: “It’s a good feeling to lose. The people who follow you are going to lose, too. You got to set an example of how to lose. This way, they can see how I lose. It’ll be old news a week from now. Plane crashes, a president assassinated, a civil rights leader assassinated, people forget in two weeks. Old news.”

Ali would later meet Frazier two more times during his professional career and prevail on both occasions, having been inspired and motivated to return to winning ways.

https://twitter.com/AdamCatterall/status/1592498942381785088?s=20&t=U8UhOlXm3XdmS-zXoQwtFAnbsp;

It goes without saying that Adesanya appreciates Ali’s team’s constant encouragement to keep battling and progressing.

After the fight, Israel Adesanya participated in a number of podcasts and shows; he never spoke poorly of Pereira, and he wasn’t a bitter loser. The exact opposite. He always displayed elegance and expressed gratitude for the life he has thus far had in the UFC.