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Israel Adesanya reveals what he meant with the famous gesture shortly before the final sequence of the UFC 305 fight

Shortly before being forced to submit by Dricus Du Plessis in the fourth round of the UFC 305 main event in Perth last Saturday, Israel Adesanya used Max Holloway's famous gesture, but he has since revealed the true meaning behind it.

Israel Adesanya returned to the UFC Octagon last Saturday at UFC 305 after an 11-month layoff, the longest time he has ever been away from the sport.

The former champion started the fight relatively well and in the championship rounds he was still firmly in the fight and likely to take the lead. Despite this, Dricus Du Plessis managed a rear-naked choke in the fourth round, retaining the middleweight title.

South African Dricuc Du Plessis (R) and New Zealander Israel Adesanya fight in their middleweight event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Photo by COLIN MURTY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel Adesanya reveals the meaning of his famous gesture shortly before his defeat

Just moments before “Stillknocks” took the former champion to the ground and fell on his back, Adesanya pointed to the ground and people thought this was an attempt to instigate a wild exchange with Du Plessis.

UFC “BMF” champion Max Holloway made the gesture extremely famous, first showing it when he fought Ricardo Lamas in 2016, making for a thrilling ending to their incredible fight.

However, the gesture became known earlier this year when “Blessed” Holloway did it again in the final moments of his UFC 300 fight against Justin Gaethje. Holloway knocked out Gaethje one second into the exchange.

The Dutch professional MMA association LFL has even honored Holloway and has now set up a “Max Holloway Bonus” feature for its events, giving its fighters the opportunity to earn extra money by initiating a wild exchange of blows with their finger on the ground.

Although both the UFC fan base and commentators on the call thought Adesanya was trying to start a crazy exchange, the 35-year-old revealed what he actually meant when he pointed to the ground.

“Let me explain this because the commentary booth got it wrong, but again, it's spontaneous and this is what you see in real time. I was moving and my right ankle twisted and I tripped when he threw,” Adesanya began to explain in a video on his YouTube channel.

“To the untrained eye and in the moment, it looked like Dom (Cruz) said, 'Oh, that was a really bad punch that hit him,' and it looked like I was shaken. Then I stood up and I made a circle and pointed to the ground looking at him and DC (Daniel Cormier) said, 'He's pointing to the ground like Max Holloway and saying, 'Come here,' no.

“I said to him, I tripped, you didn't knock me down, I didn't want him to think he knocked me down with anything. In hindsight, I think he took that as an opportunity to capitalize and he immediately closed the distance on me, I lost concentration in that moment,” Adesanya continued.

Adesanya talks about possible timeline for return

After the devastating loss, it was unclear whether Adesanya would quit and retire from the sport, but he made it clear that he was “not fucking leaving.”

Since then, the Nigerian-born striker has given some information on his possible return date, admitting that he feels he will be able to fight again next week as he has not suffered any injuries.

“Enjoy me while I'm here, man, enjoy me while I'm fighting. When I saw the fight, immediately I was like, 'Damn, I can go again'. I was like, 'Damn, I can go again, I still feel good', I could literally fight this weekend, I don't even have to make the weight, I can fight this weekend.

“We'll see. I just want to get back in the gym and train again. Then we'll realign and regroup. And yeah, we'll see,” Adesanya admitted.

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