Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya share more than just a love for combat sports. As two of the most dominant African fighters in UFC history, they have consistently supported each other inside and outside the octagon. With Adesanya set to make his return at UFC Saudi Arabia, Ngannou posted a photo with The Last Stylebender, reassuring fans that his brother is in great spirits ahead of the fight.
Ngannou and Adesanya are two-thirds of the 3-Kings, a one-of-a-kind UFC stable. This dates back to the time, when both of them, along with Kamaru Usman held titles in the UFC. Ngannou was the heavyweight champion, with Adesanya and Usman walking around with the middleweight and welterweight titles respectively.
The three of them had also vowed never to change weight classes and fight each other due to this brotherhood. Now as Adesanya makes his return to the octagon after his first-ever 2-fight losing streak, Ngannou only thought it was appropriate to show up and cheer him up. And Adesanya was nothing but grateful for it.
“My big bro always a G!!”
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The two have also always had each other’s backs, even when it wasn’t necessarily safe to do so. When Ngannou was at odds with the UFC, Adesanya had shown his support for the Cameroonian fighter. And even when the promotion erased his name from a video for the UFC 305 countdown, Adesanya had publicly asked for it to be fixed.
“You can never erase Francis’ history from the UFC… It’s part of history, we need to fix this… I don’t like the fact we’re trying to just cut out a really important part of history. It’s silly.”
Israel Adesanya speaks out about Francis Ngannou being “erased” from UFC history:
“You can never erase Francis’ history from the UFC… It’s part of history, we need to fix this…
I don’t like the fact we’re trying to just cut out a really important part of history. It’s… pic.twitter.com/p7SRUjqyXH
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 14, 2024
With Ngannou now and forever present in his corner, Adesanya will hope to get back to winning ways. But even if he can’t, the former middleweight champion isn’t too worried about his legacy. He also seems to have accepted his role as the gatekeeper for the middleweight division.
Adesanya sees himself as the ‘Old Dog’
For the first time in six years, Israel Adesanya will step into the octagon for a non-title fight—a testament to the dominance he has displayed throughout his UFC career.
From the moment he arrived in the promotion, Adesanya quickly established himself as one of the sport’s biggest stars, capturing the middleweight belt twice and defending it against some of the best fighters in the division. To this day, he is the only fighter in the UFC to have defeated light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Now, as he prepares for his next challenge in UFC Saudi Arabia, Adesanya acknowledges that he is finally starting to feel like a veteran. During his media day, when asked about his mindset at this stage of his career, he said:
“I feel like the guy, the old dog, and then there’s the young guys coming up, trying to prove themselves. So it’s my job to send them back down and let them know (I’m) still here.”
“God forbid, if I lose my next 10 fights, it wouldn’t affect my legacy.”
Israel Adesanya is confident in his position as the “old dog” before #UFCSaudiArabia. pic.twitter.com/2ScX9m1GUZ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 29, 2025
Despite his recent losses, it must be noted that he is still a top fighter in the 185 lbs division. And while he’s not chasing titles anymore, there’s not a single fighter in the division with his arsenal and experience. Now, that is some gatekeeper, isn’t he?
