Israel Adesanya is the latest in a long line of UFC stars to pay their respects to the late Kobe Bryant, who has tragically passed away.
Bryant was recently involved in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
The 41-year-old was amongst nine passengers that died in the accident, including his daughter Gianna.
‘I Follow Greatness’
And UFC middleweight champion Adesanya has now joined the horde of athletes who are paying tribute to the hall-of-famer.
‘Stylebender’ says he doesn’t follow basketball per se, but ‘follows greatness’ and so was still heavily influenced by the five-time NBA champion.
“I don’t follow basketball, I just follow greatness,”
“And just watching the way he played the game, watching the way he conducted himself, watching the way people spoke about him,”
‘Worldwide’
Adesanya went on to speak about the worldwide impact Bryant has left, and believes his legacy will never die.
“So, like I said, I don’t follow basketball, I just follow greatness, and I’m following suit,” Adesanya continued.
“His ‘Mamba Mentality’ is worldwide.”
“It’s something that’s always going to be around and live forever.”
“When I finish this and I shoot it in the trash can, what name am I going to yell?”
“‘Kobe.’”
“That’s never going to die now, and it’s going to hit different now because of the way things are but yeah, it’ll never die.”
“Legends never die.”
“It’ll carry on forever.”
Massive Impact
Bryant is considered one of the biggest stars in sporting history.
And his tragic and untimely death has had a massive impact on the sporting world.
The MMA community have come out in force to honour the Laker’s legacy.
Former UFC two-weight champion Conor McGregor has also paid his respects.
At such a sad time, it’s great to see the sports community giving due respect to Bryant and the legacy he has left behind.
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Israel Adesanya and Fox News)