Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, has congratulated Nigerian-born UFC middleweight champion, Isreal Adesanya, after retaining his title with a second round knockout of Paulo Costa in Abu Dhabi .
Adesanya made light work of his opponent , dominating the fight from start to finish as he wrapped up business with a knockout of Costa in the second round via punches .
Adesanya was barely touched in the fight and left Costa needing medical attention after the defeat .
Apart from the minister, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission , Abike Dabiri -Erewa and other Nigerians, also celebrated the Lagos -born UFC Star .
“ Isreal Adesanya wins again. Second round knockout ! Middleweight Champion of the World ! Nigeria in the podium again. Shout out to Lagos !“ Sunday Dare tweeted .
Dare also congratulated Canadian -born Nigerian fighter Hakeem Dawodu who had earlier defeated Russian Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision to stay unbeaten in nine professional MMA fights in the featherweight division.
“ I also congratulate and celebrate Hakeem Dawodu . Another Nigerian who won his fight this morning before Isreal, ” Dare added .
Chairman , Nigerians in Diaspora Commission , Abike Dabiri- Erewa also hailed Adesanya ’ s feat .
“ Congrats @stylebender . You made it all look so so easy ,” Dabiri- Erewa wrote on Twitter.
Other Nigerians also hailed the middleweight champion for the easy fight despite pundits predicting a tough encounter.
“ Izzy Adesanya knocked Costa out in round 2 of the # ufc 253 . The last style bender is one of the smartest fighters I have ever watched . A win for Nigeria . A win for Africa, ” OB Amponsah tweeted .
“ That left hook right behind Costa ’s ear did the damage . Israel Adesanya is no fluke . No one saw this game ending in round 2 , Naija great ,” @ cktwist 23 tweeted .
“ Israel Adesanya gave a shout out to Nigerians after an “ Izzy ” victory . He never forgets his roots . Congratulations, ” Elvis Tunde reacted to Adesanya ’ s win on Twitter.
