"F***ing cold" - Israel Adesanya has a head-in-hands moment as he reacts live to Anthony Joshua knocking out Francis Ngannou 

Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou are close friends, and along with Kamaru Usman, they ruled the UFC as champions during the promotion's 'Three African Kings' era. For this reason, it was especially painful for 'The Last Stylebender' to watch the Cameroonian's brutal knockout loss to Anthony Joshua.

In Ngannou's latest boxing excursion, 'The Predator' was on the receiving end of two knockdowns before being knocked out cold, all within two rounds. From the comfort of his home, Adesanya grimaced as he watched Joshua's demolition of his friend. Putting out a video on his YouTube channel, Adesanya said:

"Oh, man. F***ing cold. Aaah man. Damn. He's okay. That second one was bad."

Check out Israel Adesanya's reaction to Francis Ngannou's knockout loss to Anthony Joshua (5:46):

It was as one-sided a fight as Ngannou had ever been in, and it was the first time he had ever been dropped and finished. The oxygen mask given to him following the KO was reminiscent of the oxygen mask Adesanya was given when he was knocked unconscious by Alex Pereira in their final kickboxing bout.

How Ngannou bounces back from his loss will be of significant interest, especially as he now needs a long layoff to recover from the knockout. Meanwhile, Adesanya is gearing up for a triumphant octagon return against heated rival and reigning UFC middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis.

While a potential UFC 300 headliner was in the works, the South African was too banged up from his five-round war with Sean Strickland at UFC 297 to make the quick turnaround. So, for now, fans will await the promotion's announcement on when Adesanya and du Plessis will lock horns.

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When Israel Adesanya was a professional boxer

While Israel Adesanya is more widely known for his kickboxing exploits and UFC middleweight championship reign, he also had a brief six-fight stint in professional boxing. His first bout was a unanimous decision loss, after which 'The Last Stylebender' embarked on a five-fight win streak.

Check out Israel Adesanya's boxing footage:

However, all of his bouts took place in New Zealand's regional scene, where he is distinguished as the Super 8 III Cruiserweight Champion and Super 8 IV Cruiserweight Champion.