Israel Adesanya says Mohamed Salah makes him feel good every time he does his trademark celebration.
Salah netted Liverpool’s second as his side breezed past Ipswich Town on Saturday to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
After thumping in his 100th Premier League goal for the Reds in the 4-1 victory, Salah used an archer’s gesture as he celebrated in front of the home fans.
The Egyptian man has already used the celebration this season, bringing it out at Old Trafford after scoring a goal during Liverpool’s win against Manchester United.
Salah said in his post-match interview that he was inspired by Adesanya, who has now revealed why the celebration continues to make him feel happy.
“It felt good when Mohamed Salah did my celebration,” Adesanya said, speaking to Stake.
“It lets me know I am doing the right things. It lets me know I am representing myself, the game and my people well.
“He is also Egyptian and the weaponry I believe it’s a part of their culture. It’s just cool to see people appreciate my work and the little trinkets I give.
“It also makes room for people to do their own thing and I love it when people express themselves freely.”
Adesanya adopted the celebration for the first time after his famous knockout victory over Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April 2023.
He made the gesture as if firing arrows at his rival, who was left unconscious on the floor after being knocked out cold by Adesanya in the second round.
The celebration has since been a feature of Salah’s game, with the 32-year-old having had plenty of opportunities to use it having bagged 19 goals in 22 appearances this season.
Meanwhile, Adesanya is on quite a different run of form in the UFC.
He makes his return to MMA this weekend, fighting Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia in a bout that will mark his first non-title fight in six years.
Adesanya defended the UFC middleweight title a whopping six times during his three years as champion.
But he has only claimed one victory in his last four bouts, losing to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis most recently.
‘The Last Stylebender’ was submitted by Du Plessis in his last bout at UFC 305 in August 2024.
Du Plessis is the current UFC middleweight title holder and defends the belt in a rematch with Strickland at UFC 312 on February 8 in Australia.
Adesanya will hope that his bout against Imavov will set a precedent for things to come and get him in contention for a future title shot once again.
Ahead of his fight this Saturday, Adesanya’s coach revealed that he is doing things ‘quite differently’.
“There’s a few things that I’m doing quite differently with Izzy for this fight,” Eugene Bareman told Combat TV.
“They’re a lot more drastic to what I’m usually accustomed to doing.”
Bareman led Adesanya, who knocked out Robert Whittaker, to world championship status in 2019 in the same year he was named the UFC coach of the Year.
