Israel Adesanya is in the process of training for his championship defense against Yoel Romero on March 7th. Upon hearing about the Kobe Bryant tragedy, Adesanya took some time away from training to talk about the impact Bryant had on him and his team.
“Twista (Adesanaya’s striking coach) all of his teams are LA teams. The Dodgers, Raiders, and Lakers. The first person I thought about when it happened was him”.
Although Adesanya did not watch much basketball his striking coach Twist is an avid Kobe fan.
“He used to call me the Mamba. The ‘Nigerian Mamba’. I wasn’t an avid basketball fan but I follow greatness. Just watching the way he played the game, the way he conducted himself and how people spoke about him. They always spoke highly of him”.
Adesanya also has been compared to Kobe Bryant throughout his career.
“JC who has worked with him in the past has always talked highly about him. She said that you and Kobe are so similar and get along. I took it with a grain of salt but I felt cool that she would even put me in that bracket because she’s worked closely with him. I don’t follow basketball, I just follow greatness and I’m following suit”.
“His Mamba mentality is worldwide. It’s going to always be around and live forever. When I finish this and shoot it in the trash can what am I going to yell? Kobe. That’s never going to die now and it’s going to hit differently with the things are now. Legends never die and they carry on forever”.