Watch: Molly McCann gifts Israel Adesanya Everton jersey autographed by Nigerian soccer star Alex Iwobi
British MMA star Molly McCann has gifted middleweight champion Israel Adesanya a signed shirt by a player from her favorite soccer team.
McCann, who was born in Liverpool, England, is a lifelong fan of Premier League soccer team Everton. 'Meatball' bumped into Adesanya during fight week in New York City and handed him his gift.
The shirt was signed by Everton player Alex Iwobi. Iwobi is Nigerian and is one of the star players for both Everton and the Nigerian national team. 'The Last Stylebender' was born in Nigeria and was visibly touched by the gift from 'Meatball'.
: Molly McCann / Israel Adesanya A touch of class from @MeatballMolly 🤝
She recruits @stylebender for the Toffee's, giving him a Everton shirt signed by @alexiwobi 🖋️🇳🇬
📹: Molly McCann / Israel Adesanya
#UFC281 | Saturday | BT Sport 2 https://t.co/7W69OZyk4n
Israel Adesanya is looking to make his sixth title defense when he main events UFC 281 against long-time rival Alex Pereira.
The pair fought twice before their time in the UFC, when they were both professional kickboxers. Pereira got the victory on both occasions, but delivered a stunning left-hook KO to Adesanya in the second fight. It remains the only time Adesanya has been finished in combat sports.
For McCann, the 32-year-old is looking to extend her already impressive three-fight win streak when she faces Erin Blanchfield this weekend. 'Meatball' heads into the bout off the back of two Performance of the Night bonuses, which came as a result of two highlight-reel spinning back elbow finishes.
Israel Adesanya explains what Georges St-Pierre taught him
Ahead of his UFC 281 bout vs. Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya shared what he learned from Georges St-Pierre when the pair met for a rare dinner back in July.
Adesanya was in Toronto, Canada and revealed that 'GSP' flew to the city just to meet the middleweight champ. The pair enjoyed a nice meal together and shared pictures of the occasion on social media.
During the dinner, 'The Last Stylebender' sought advice from a true legend of MMA.
In a recent interview with BT Sport, Adesanya explained the words of advice he received from the UFC Hall of Famer and how important it was to hear them from somebody who's been in his position:
"It's always good to get input from someone who actually has been in my position, someone who's actually been there and he truly understands. So we had dinner in the nice steak house then we went to the embassy. Me and him were just... You know when you get drunk with someone and you just have like, raw talks? There's some stuff that this game will present to you that you have to be able to navigate and I've done well so far. I've not been on TMZ for the wrong reasons, neither was he."
Catch Israel Adesanya's interview with BT Sport here: