Michael Olugbode in Abuja
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has congratulated Nigerian-born UFC champion, Israel Adesanya, on yet another successful title defence.
Adesanya, early Sunday in Las Vegas, United States of America, defeated Jared Cannonier to retain his UFC Middleweight crown with a unanimous decision victory.
Dare, in a statement, praised Adesanya for being a worthy youth ambassador for the country.
The minister said Nigeria is proud of the achievements of Israel Adesanya and another UFC champion Kamaru Usman who have continued to identify with the country everytime they compete.
“We are proud of Adesanya and Usman and we will continue to celebrate them because they always identify with Nigeria, they always proudly carry our flag everywhere they go. They are our global icons. We believe they have many more successes ahead of them,” Dare concluded.
Similarly, the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa commended Adesanya for retaining his UFC title.
in a statement by Mr. Gabriel Odu of Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of the Commission, Dabiri-Erewa congratulated the champion for the giant strides by defeating his opponent Jared Cannonier to retain the title and extend his winning streak to 12-0.
The NIDCOM boss hailed Adesanya’s performance and applaud him for showing the true Nigerian Spirit of “Not Giving Up”.
She urged him to sustain the momentum and win more laurels for Nigeria in Mixed Martial Art.
