Watch: Israel Adesanya's heartfelt, emotional eulogy at teammate Fau Vake's funeral

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Israel Adesanya (left); Fau Vake (right) [Image Courtesy: @fauvake on Instagram]

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was the first to bring news of his teammate Fau Vake's critical condition to the world with a post on Twitter. Vake was the victim of an assault in Auckland, New Zealand, and spent a week in hospital before succumbing to his injuries. The young City Kickboxing protege was a talented martial artist and father to a young daughter.

A video uploaded to YouTube shows Israel Adesanya delivering a heartfelt eulogy at Fau Vake's funeral at the Tungapapai Church in their hometown of Auckland. The UFC middleweight king displayed love, respect, and positivity through a message that came straight from the heart.

Israel Adesanya reminisced about his teammate's loving demeanor and reminded those present to make their loved ones feel appreciated while they are around.

Here is an excerpt from Adesanya's eulogy:

"I remember being in Kingsland, and we had a dinner for his birthday, I believe, and he was saying bye to his friends. I remember... he said, "Alright, later dogs, love you dogs" and for me that caught me off-guard because I didn't expect that kind of language, because I'm really soft and I like telling all my friends I love them, so I didn't really expect that from him. I remember I let him know the next week at the gym that, you know, that was cool how he can show love to his friends."

"... That shows, you need to give people their flowers while they're here, you need to tell people you love them while they're here... You need to let people know how important they are... I'm glad I gave him his flowers while he was here and so I would implore everyone else, you know, it might be something small, might be a little passing comment. But it's important to let the people you know, who are close to you or not, the point is to let them know and give them their flowers while they're here, because you just never know."

Watch Israel Adesanya's heartfelt eulogy below:

Adesanya had previously posted a touching tribute to Vake on Instagram.

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Israel Adesanya dedicated his UFC 263 win to Fau Vake

'The Last Stylebender' Israel Adesanya's most recent octagon outing came at UFC 263 when he successfully defended his middleweight belt against Marvin Vettori.

The fight came just weeks after Fau Vake's passing, and understandably, the entire City Kickboxing team was still reeling from the shock. After his dominant win over Vettori, Israel Adesanya dedicated the fight to his fallen teammate Fau Vake.

Adesanya revealed that his walkout costume was also partly inspired by Fau Vake.

Also Read: Israel Adesanya shares how fans can help Fau Vake's family after his tragic death

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