Israel Adesanya reveals what he meant by using famous gesture moments before the finishing sequence of UFC 305 fight
19/08/2024 22:50
Just before getting submitted by Dricus Du Plessis in the fourth round of their UFC 305 main event in Perth this past Saturday, Israel Adesanya used the famous gesture of Max Holloway, but he has since revealed the real meaning behind using it.
Israel Adesanya returned to the UFC Octagon this past Saturday at UFC 305 after an 11-month hiatus, the longest amount of time he’s ever taken away from the sport.
The former champion began the fight relatively well, and come the championship rounds, he was still firmly in the fight and was likely taking over. Despite that, in round four, Dricus Du Plessis sunk in a rear-naked choke, retaining the middleweight title.
Israel Adesanya reveals the meaning behind using famous gesture moments before loss
Just moments before ‘Stillknocks’ took the former champion down to the ground and got to his back, Adesanya pointed to the ground and people thought it was an attempt to begin a wild trading match with Du Plessis.
UFC ‘BMF’ champion, Max Holloway has made the gesture extremely famous, and he first did it when he fought Ricardo Lamas in 2016, making for an intense end to their incredible fight.
The gesture hit the mainstream earlier this year, though, when ‘Blessed’ Holloway did it again in the final moments during his UFC 300 fight against Justin Gaethje. Holloway went on to knock Gaethje out with just one second remaining after initiating the exchange.
Dutch professional MMA promotion, LFL even honored Holloway and has now set up a ‘Max Holloway bonus’ feature for their events, allowing their fighters the chance to earn extra cash by initiating a wild exchange by pointing to the ground.
Although both the UFC fanbase and the commentators on the call thought Adesanya was trying to initiate a crazy exchange, the 35-year-old has revealed what he actually meant by pointing to the ground.
“Let me explain this because the commentary booth got it wrong, but again, it’s on the fly and it’s what you see in real-time. I was moving and my right ankle rolled and I tripped as he was throwing,” Adesanya began to explain in a video on his YouTube channel.
“To the untrained eye and in the moment it looked like, I think it was maybe Dom (Cruz) said ‘Oh that was a really bad shot he got hit with’ and it looked like I was rocked, then I like got up and circled out and I pointed at the ground looking at him and DC (Daniel Cormier) goes, ‘He’s pointing at the ground like Max Holloway like come here’, nope.
“What I said to him was like, I tripped, you didn’t rock me, I didn’t want him to think he rocked me with anything. In hindsight, I think he used that as a moment to capitalize and he just closed the distance on me straightaway, I lost focus in that moment” Adesanya continued.
Adesanya talks about possible return timeline
Following the devastating loss, it was unclear whether Adesanya would call it a day and retire from the sport, but he made it clear that he’s ‘not f****** leaving’.
Since then, the Nigerian-born striker has provided some context around when he may return, admitting that he feels like he could fight again next week as he didn’t sustain any damage.
“Enjoy me while I’m here man, enjoy me while I fight. As soon as I watched the fight I was like ‘F*** I can go again’, just instant. I was like ‘F*** I can go again I still feel good’, like literally I could fight this weekend, I don’t even have to make weight I can fight this weekend.
“We’ll see, I just want to get back to the gym, get training again and we’ll reset, regroup, and yeah, we’ll see,” Adesanya admitted.
