Israel Adesanya reacts to UFC 286 main event between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman

Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman entered 2023 in similar positions as former champions with five title defenses looking to reclaim their throne. 'The Last Stylebender' recently shared his reaction to the UFC 286 title fight between 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and Leon Edwards.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the No.1-ranked middleweight stated:

"I'm just glad none of them got seriously hurt. I wasn't watching it to score. I scored the first two and then after the point got taken away, I was just like, 'oh, oh, oh, oh', but yeah, it was a close fight. From the fight, like watching it as a fight, as a whole, close fight. I thought it was going to be a draw, but I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised that Leon won."

Check out Israel Adesanya's full comments on UFC 286 below (starting at the 11:54 mark):

Leon Edwards was able to defeat Kamaru Usman via a majority decision in the main event of UFC 286 to retain the welterweight title. Israel Adesanya will make his return to the octagon at UFC 287 in three weeks in hopes of reclaiming the middleweight throne when he faces Alex Pereira in an MMA rematch.

The former middleweight champion has lost three closely contested bouts, two of which came in kickboxing, against 'Poatan.' He will look to become the first two-time champion in division history.

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Francis Ngannou believes himself, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya are still '3 Kings'

Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya were dubbed as Africa's 'Three Kings' as they became the first and only three fighters from the continent to win UFC titles. While none currently hold a title, 'The Predator' recently used the nickname to reference the trio while praising 'The Nigerian Nightmare' following his UFC 286 loss. Ngannou posted the below message on Twitter:

"You are a champion with or without a piece of metal my brother. Your legacy is already cemented in the history of the sport. @USMAN84kg We are always behind you 🤴🏿🤴🏿🤴🏿[Nigerian flag and Cameroonian flag] #3kings"

Check out Francis Ngannou's tweet to Kamaru Usman below:

Ngannou vacated his heavyweight title, leaving the UFC as a free agent due to a dispute during contract negotiations. Usman and Adesanya lost the welterweight and middleweight titles, respectively, in 2022 despite dominating the majority of their bouts. While 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was unsuccessful in his attempt to reclaim the title, 'The Last Stylebender' will look to do so at UFC 287.