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Israel Adesanya recently let fans in on an emotional moment featuring his longtime teammate and friend 'Blood Diamond,' which transpired during the UFC 271 ceremonial weigh-ins.
‘The Last Stylebender’ shed tears of joy after ‘Blood Diamond’ (real name: Mike Mathetha) took to the stage at the weigh-ins.
In a video posted to his official YouTube channel, Adesanya can be seen crying during the segment where Mathetha hits the stage at the ceremonial weigh-ins. The video briefly depicts the close bond of friendship between the two veteran combat sports athletes.
This includes photos and video clips of Israel Adesanya and Mike Mathetha with one another over the years, as well as with their CKB (City Kickboxing) coach Eugene Bareman. Adesanya, a Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter, is a veteran of the sport of kickboxing, akin to his friend – Zimbabwe-born New Zealand fighter Mathetha.
While Israel Adesanya has racked up an impressive record in the sport of MMA , ‘Blood Diamond’ aka Mike Mathetha, is 3-1 in the sport and looking to follow in his friend’s footsteps in the UFC.
Mathetha's first UFC fight was a welterweight bout against Jeremiah Wells as part of tonight’s UFC 271 fight card. He ended up losing his UFC debut as Wells got the better of him via a first-round submission.
Watch Adesanya get emotional watching 'Blood Diamond' at the ceremonial weigh-ins
Israel Adesanya on following in the footsteps of ‘Blood Diamond’ in their kickboxing journey
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to defend his title in a rematch against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 tonight. Adesanya previously beat Whittaker via second-round KO at UFC 243 in October 2019 and is looking to go 2-0 against ‘The Reaper.’
Leading up to UFC 271, Adesanya recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel wherein ‘The Last Stylebender’ shed light upon his respect and admiration for ‘Blood Diamond’ aka Mike Mathetha. He also recalled his experience as an up-and-coming fighter
Israel Adesanya emphasized that it was Mathetha who set the blueprint for him to compete in kickboxing matches in China and learn MMA along the way. Recalling that they’d sometimes only have one another in their corner for their fights, Adesanya said:
"Yeah, Diamond first went to China before me. He kind of set it up, the blueprint, the whole, 'Being a kickboxer, going to China, racking up fights,' experience while learning MMA along the way as well. Jiu-jitsu, grappling, so, we got some amazing stories that we can share as well of our come-up in China. There was times when it was just me and him."
Watch the full video below:
