We didn't stop believing in you - Tinubu tells Adesanya

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola, has congratulated Nigerian-born New Zealander, Israel Adesanya, for reclaiming his Middleweight belt against his tough Brazilian opponent, Alex Pereira, at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 287.

The self-styled Stylebender landed a knockout punch to put his arch-rival to the sword in the early hours of Sunday, April 9, 2023.

Adesanya's victory was the first against Pereira in four encounters having suffered three previous defeats including the one at the Madison Square Garden in New York last November where the Brazilian martial artist dispossessed his Nigerian-born opponent of his Middleweight title.

Reacting to Adesanya's comeback win on Sunday, April 9, 2023, the President-elect in a tweet accompanied by the martial artist's picture, said Nigerians never stopped believing in his ability to reclaim his crown.

Tinubu's tweet read: "Congratulations to Isreal Adesanya @stylebender on reclaiming the UFC Middleweight Title. He never stopped believing in himself and we did not stop believing in him. NaijaProud."

This is coming one week after the former Lagos State governor expressed his admiration for British boxer of Nigerian descent, Anthony Joshua, over his comeback victory against Jermaine Franklin.

Pulse reports that Joshua triumphed over his American opponent in a unanimous decision after a 12-round fight at the 02 Arena late Saturday, April 1, 2023.

Joshua's victory was his first in two years after back-to-back defeats against Ukrainian boxer, Oleksandr Usyk.