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Israel Adesanya is not a fan of basketball, but he is one of the late legend Kobe Byrant.
Upon the tragic death of the 41-year old, five-time NBA Champion, Adesanya joined the rest of the MMA community in paying tributes and sending condolences to the family via social media. "It's just sad man... Woke up to the news and it's sad az," he wrote in the tweet.
In an EMG Access episode released on Tuesday, January 28, Adesanya spoke further on how Bryant left an impact on his life.
Israel Adesanya: "I don't follow basketball, I just follow greatness"
Kobe Bryant passed away on January 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers.
Despite not following basketball as a sport, Adesanya is definitely an admirer of the sportsman and his 'Mamba Mentality'.
"I don’t follow basketball, I just follow greatness, and just watching the way he played the game, watching the way he conducted himself, watching the way people spoke about him."
The UFC Middleweight Champ revealed that he has been compared to Bryant previously by mutual acquaintances who worked with them both closely, and he was humbled by it.
"Give an example – JC, who’s worked with him in the past, the way she always spoke highly of him, … she was like, ‘You and Kobe are so similar; you guys would get along.’ I mean, I took it with a grain of salt, but at the same time, I felt cool that she would even put me in that same bracket because she’s worked so closely with him."
Adesanya, who will be defending his title for the first time against Yoel Romero in the main event at UFC 248 on March 7, is going to try and follow his footsteps in terms of greatness, he said, because Bryant's is the kind that never really fades away.
"So, like I said, I don’t follow basketball, I just follow greatness, and I’m following suit. His ‘Mamba Mentality’ is worldwide. It’s something that’s always going to be around and live forever. When I finish this (bottle) and I shoot it in the trash can, what name am I going to yell? ‘Kobe.’ That’s never going to die now, and it’s going to hit different now because of the way things are but yeah, it’ll never die... Legends never die. It’ll carry on forever."
H/t to MMA Junkie for the quotes.
