"The Kobe of the middleweight" - Israel Adesanya keeping his word to autistic fan earns emotional reactions from fans 

Israel Adesanya proved that he is a man of his word in his rubber match against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April. In one of ESPN MMA's recent videos uploaded to Instagram, 'The Last Stylebender' can be seen reading a letter he received from a young autistic fan before his rematch against 'Poatan.' Adesanya can be seen getting emotional as he promises his fan that he will get the job done and affirms that moments like these are why he strives hard as a fighter.

Fans praised Israel Adesanya for keeping his word and took to the post's comments section to express their reactions.

One fan compared Adesanya to legendary NBA star Kobe Bryant:

"Adesanya is the Kobe of the middleweight division."

Another fan agreed with that sentiment and wrote:

"Love him or hate him he's an all-time great."

One user opined:

"Izzy's storyline with Alex is one of the greatest ever."

Another user referenced a vlog posted on Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel that featured this video:

"This was the episode that made me a true believer and I felt every word. Respect brother, you got it done."

One fan wrote:

"It was like watching a soul's final boss getting beat, it was amazing."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @espnmma on Instagram

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Israel Adesanya outlines how 2022 airport arrest after UFC 281 loss got him to rethink fan interactions

Israel Adesanya recently discussed his airport arrest last year. He was arrested at JFK (John F. Kennedy) Airport in New York on November 16 last year for possession of brass/metal knuckles while attempting to get through airport security.

While the Port Authority Police briefly detained the UFC star near the American Airlines terminal, the weapons charge was eventually dismissed. The brass knuckles were later revealed to be a gift from a fan that slipped into Adesanya's luggage.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Israel Adesanya recalled his arrest and subsequent detention, stating:

"It’s crazy how life happens. You lose the belt, you go to the airport, and get arrested… [I was in the cell] for about 45 minutes. They were all, like, "What are you doing here?... We’ll get you out of here as soon as possible."

He continued:

"This is why now I don’t take gifts from fans... But shoutout to fans, they’re cool, and I think once they started to see I was taking gifts, guys would bring, like, an old sweatshirt."

Watch the full episode below: