The traditional ruler of Odogbolu in Ogun State, Oba Adedeji Olusegun Onagoruwa, has praised Nigerian-born New Zealand-based UFC fighter, Israel Adesanya, for his brilliant performance against Paulo Costa of Brazil in their middleweight title fight on Sunday.

At the UFC 253 bout, which held at the Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Adesanya, 31, connected multiple leg kicks and head kicks to floor the Brazilian in the second round.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Oba Onagoruwa said he was excited to see Adesanya, who is one of his subjects, progress so rapidly in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) business.

“I am always happy watching Adesanya dominate his opponents in the UFC fights,” the monarch said. “He is a great motivator for youths of Odogbolu, Ogun State and Nigeria in general. I will continue to pray for his success. I also pray that one day, Adesanya will bring his fight to Nigeria for our people to watch him live. I am looking forward to a day, when I will join other members of his family on the ringside to cheer our son (Israel Adesanya) to victory.”

Oba Onagoruwa, the Elesi 1, Alaye of Odogbolu Kingdom, urged Nigerian youths to emulate the great work of Adesanya. “You can achieve your dream if you believe in yourself. Israel has demonstrated that with self-determination, everything is possible in life. My message to Nigerian youths now is to shun negative act that is capable of damaging the name of our great country, Nigeria, and follow the footsteps of Israel Adesanya. We are proud of him,” he added.

Recall that Adesanya won the interim UFC middleweight championship by beating Kelvin Gastelum in Atlanta, U.S. Adesanya has won all of his 20 matches in professional Mixed Martial Arts.