Israel Adesanya shares screenshot of DMs from his parents congratulating him for winning 'International Fighter of the Year' at 2021 World MMA Awards

Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya [Image credits @stylebender on Instagram]

Israel Adesanya has accomplished many feats to earn the admiration of his parents. The latest accolade in a flourishing career is winning International Fighter of the Year at the 2021 World MMA Awards. The award is bestowed upon the best non-American fighter in MMA.

World #MMAAwards results: Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) wins “International Fighter of the Year.”

In a now-deleted Instagram story, 'The Last Stylebender' shared a screenshot of both his parents congratulating him, with a caption that read: "I'm actually surprised."

Screenshot of Israel Adesanya's Instagram story before it was deleted[credits: @stylebender on Instagram]

The Nigerian-born Kiwi beat multiple other top international contenders, including Robert Whittaker and Jan Blachowicz, to the award. 'The Last Stylebender' is scheduled to defend his UFC middleweight crown in a rematch against 'The Reaper' at UFC 271 on February 12, 2022.

The pair have not shared the octagon since their first encounter at UFC 243, where Adesanya ended Whittaker's title reign with a nasty left hook and follow-up strikes in the second round. ‘Bobby Knuckles’ will be looking to avenge the loss when they meet in the octagon early next year.

A preview of the potential matchup between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker at UFC 271

In their last bout, Israel Adesanya came out with the victory when he finished Robert Whittaker in the second round.

AND NEW!

Israel Adesanya knocks out Robert Whittaker to become the new UFC middleweight champion 🏆

(via @ufc)
https://t.co/OnQmuKIKRV

Since that loss, Whittaker has gone on to beat three top middleweight contenders – Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum.

Meanwhile, 'The Last Stylebender' has won three of his four fights in the same period. His only defeat came at the hands of the then UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, when he moved up a weight class to challenge the Pole.

Israel Adesanya quickly recovered from this setback and successfully defended his middleweight crown in a rematch with Marvin Vettori. He outworked 'The Italian Dream' in a five-round affair that ended with him winning via unanimous decision at UFC 263.