Israel Adesanya questions the truth behind Shakira's claims about famous 'Waka Waka' song
Israel Adesanya is set to end his one-year hiatus - the longest of his combat sports career - and make his highly-anticipated return to the octagon when he challenges Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305 next month. The two-time middleweight champion recently took to Instagram to call out Shakira over her claims about her famous 2010 song, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).
'The Last Stylebender' shared a post on his stories which began with Shakira stating:
"Waka Waka, it's a dear song to me. You know, it came to me - to answer your question - it came to me in the most unexpected way. I was actually taking a few days off in my farm in Uruguay and I walked from the barn to the house and on that walk - boom, it came to me. I got the lyrics and the music of the entire first verse and the first pre-chorus."
The clip then cut to a clip from African outlet EYEGAMBIA, which compared Waka Waka to Zangalewa, a 1986 song by Cameroonian group Golden Sounds, stating:
"Both the beats, melody, and the chorus in Shakira's version is exactly the same as the original version 'Zangalewa'... After the song's release, the world gave Shakira a lot of accolades, but nothing to the original creators. It raised an issue of plagiarism and copyright as they should have been given full credit and compensation."
While there was plenty of controversy surrounding Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) and FIFA's decision to use it as the official song of the 2010 World Cup, it went on to have tremendous success. Meanwhile, Golden Sounds reached an agreement with Sony Music and Shakira's management for an undisclosed amount.
Israel Adesanya shares sparring footage ahead of UFC 305 return
Israel Adesanya will return to the octagon for the first time in a year when he faces Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305. Leading up to the highly-anticipated bout, 'The Last Stylebender' shared sparring footage to his social media accounts, captioning the post:
"#UFC305 🥷🏽"
Check out Israel Adesanya's sparring footage below:
Adesanya will return to the octagon after the longest period of inactivity in his combat sports career. He will have the opportunity to join Randy Couture, who accomplished the feat at heavyweight, as the only fighter in UFC history to win a belt in the same division three times.