“Got me a little bit teary-eyed,” Adesanya reveals the moment he got emotional in Anderson Silva’s final fight
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Israel Adesanya vs Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva, long-time former UFC middleweight champion and one of the all time greats, stepped inside the Octagon one last time at UFC Vegas 12. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fairy-tale ending for “The Spider”, who ended up losing via fourth-round TKO to fellow middleweight Uriah Hall. The fight was almost certainly his last, as confirmed by UFC president Dana White.
Also in attendance that night at the was reigning middleweight champ Israel Adesanya; who has shared the Octagon with Silva in the past, and has openly expressed his admiration for the Brazilian. The “Last Stylebender” revealed that he got “teary-eyed” during the fight.
“I don’t have anything to say to him, I’m just a fan” Adesanya on not reaching out to Silva post- fight
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Adesanya shared that he chose to give Silva some space after the fight, instead of walking up and saying something. “So yeah, I would have felt weird going over there and saying something, like what do I have to say to him? I don’t have anything to say to him, I’m just a fan. And that’s how I treat people that I admire.
I don’t walk up to them in the middle of their moments, I just enjoy them and I’ll birdwatch – or I’ll spider-watch them,” Adesanya continued that he was content with just observing from the sidelines as the legend took his bow.
Adesanya did add that there was one particular moment that made him tear up. “I was just like in awe when he bowed in the middle of the cage. I knew the feeling, because I just did it in my last fight, after the fight was over and everything, people cleaning up, I finished the ESPN interview and then I copped out and said ‘Hold up, just give me a second.’ I just went to the cage and just kind of like soaked it in,” referring to when Silva possibly taking one last bow after his match.
He also added, “But I’ll be back, he’s not. That was his last moment, so I could imagine. I got me a little bit teary-eyed, but I just swallowed it back down and embraced it, and I just spider-watched. I was just privileged, honored to witness.”
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