When Israel Adesanya's mother scolded him for doing 'shoey' - "You have a sensitive tummy"
Israel Adesanya's mother was not happy with the UFC middleweight champion doing a shoey back in 2018. 'The Last Stylebender' was in attendance at UFC Adelaide when he did a shoey to celebrate the announcement of his fight against Anderson Silva.
Adesanya later shared screenshots of messages from his mother, scolding him for the stunt and reminding him that he apparently has a "sensitive tummy." The message read:
"Son, for God's sake, please DON'T DO THIS AGAIN!. You have a sensitive tummy, I know it is your shoe but not healthy."
It was followed by another message telling Adesanya to be himself and avoid picking up bad habits from others.
"Be you as you always do, don't copy bad, unhealthy habit. Infection of the intestine can be fatal."
Israel Adesanya wrote in reply:
“It was my shoe, I’m ok Momzilla xo”.
Shoutout to Mom xo https://t.co/uGCznoxraj
The iconic shoey has become increasingly popular with the efforts of heavyweight star Tai Tuivasa. The hype behind the unique celebration even led to UFC head honcho Dana White doing a shoey with the Australian heavyweight.
Israel Adesanya appreciates Tai Tuivasa for giving 'Shoey' an iconic identity
Israel Adesanya's mother may not have liked her son to drink out of a sneaker, and rightfully so. No mother would want her kid to get sick from something so obvious, isn't it? However, 'The Last Stylebender' is a fan of the tradition and the man who made it popular in the UFC.
By now, most hardcore, semi-hardcore and even some casual fans associate shoey with UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa. The knockout artist has made it an inseparable aspect of his post-fight celebration inside the octagon.
While the unusual celebration has received mixed reactions, Israel Adesanya is glad that Tai Tuivasa has found this unique way to express himself. While speaking to 'Complex' in a February 2022 interview, 'The Last Stylebender' stated:
"Honestly, it's iconic. I love it for him. I love the fact that he's even got his 'Shoeyvasa' contraption out now. Yeah, I don't know. I just think it's his brand. It's just him. Same thing, expression. Him being authentically himself. Who would have thought, sitting on the cage, pouring a beer into a disgusting pair of sneakers, and drinking them is going to be so iconic? No one did. But 'Bam Bam' did. He did it and now look at him. He's shining."
Watch Adesanya praise Tai Tuivasa from the 8:27 mark of the video below:
The shoey is getting more popular in the UFC with time and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has also celebrated his win by drinking out of the shoe in recent times!