Why I celebrated like Adesanya after UFC win — David Onama

Mixed Martial Arts fighter, David Onama has explained why he recreated Israel Adesanya’s bow-and-arrow celebration after a brutal knockout win at UFC on ABC 5.

Onama, with a professional MMA record of 11 wins and 2 losses, had carefully devised his homage to Adesanya long before his fight against Gabriel Santos, who held a record of 10 wins and 2 losses in MMA.

Onama showcased his skill and determination by delivering a powerful second-round knockout that left Santos defeated at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

In a move that delighted spectators, Onama replicated Adesanya’s celebrated victory gesture from his UFC 287 title win against Alex Pereira in April. Following Santos’ defeat, Onama gracefully mimicked Adesanya’s performance by miming the act of pulling out an imaginary bow and shooting arrows towards his downed opponent to pay homage to Adesanya’s incredible skills.

“That’s my guy, Izzy,” Onama told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC on ABC 5 post-fight news conference. “Izzy fought a Brazilian and I was like, ‘I’m going to do what Izzy did. I’m going to knock this kid out then I’m going to celebrate like Izzy.’ And it showed, so,” Onama said.