Israel Adesanya shares heartwarming message with upset young fan after UFC loss

Israel Adesanya is gracious in defeat.

After falling to a second-round TKO loss against Nassourdine Imavov on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, the former two-time UFC middleweight champion made a point of going over and congratulating his French adversary in the cage before the result was made official.

In the days following the bout, the 35-year-old also took the time to make sure an upset young fan knew he was okay.

Carlos Correa, shortstop for Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins and a big UFC fan, had to comfort his son Kylo, who was crying because Adesanya lost to Imavov.

Adesanya responded with a message for Kylo to reassure him.

The loss was Adesanya’s third in a row, following defeats against Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis in middleweight title fights in 2023 and 2024.

The first two-time middleweight champion in UFC history came into the bout on the back of what his team believed to have been his best fight camp in years, and he looked sharp through the first round.

Adesanya got the better of Imavov through the opening five minutes of the bout in the eyes of all three judges cage-side, but was ultimately caught with a right hand early in the second round, which was followed by a heavy uppercut which sent Adesanya to the canvas.

The Nigerian-Kiwi covered up in defence immediately. However, with Imavov letting shots fly freely after putting Adesanya on the ground, referee Marc Goddard stepped in to wave it off.

While some have contested it was an early stoppage, and Adesanya himself looked disappointed with the decision in the moment, he released a video of himself watching the fight back just hours after the fact, saying the way things played out was “fair game”.

Adesanya dropped two spots in the middleweight rankings after the loss and now sits at fourth in the division, while Imavov moved up from fifth to second.