Israel Adesanya is not only one of the best fighters in the world, but also one of the most inspirational. After knocking out his rival Alex Pereira in the second round of their middleweight bout at UFC 287, Adesanya delivered a passionate speech that touched on the meaning of life and the pursuit of happiness. The powerful words of his motivational post fight speech instantly went viral.
Adesanya took the microphone from Joe Rogan, and asked for the camera to zoom in on his face. He then looked directly into the lens speaking with intensity and emotion:
“I want to say something. People… Earth, I need to say something listen to me. I hope everyone of you behind the screens or in this arena can feel this level of happiness just one time in your life. I hope all of you can feel how f******g happy I am right now just one time in your life”.
He continued: “But guess what, you will never feel this level of happiness if you don’t cope with something in your own life. When they knock you down, when they try to s*** on you, when they talk s*** about you, and they try to put their foot on your neck, if you stay down you will never ever get that resolve”.
He also added that he has a “sweet tooth”, which means that he loves the taste of happiness, which is the driving force behind his dedication to his craft.
Essentially Adesanya explained that happiness is not easy to attain, especially when faced with challenges and hardships. The knockout win over Pereira was the sweetest victory of his career, because it was a culmination of his hard work and dedication he put in after suffering the adversity of defeat in their prior fight. He even thanked Pereira for making him a better person.
That might have been one of the best post fight speeches in UFC history, everyone felt that. It should be in a commercial one day.
