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Photo: UFC Star Israel Adesanya Spotted Training With Bayley’s Injured Best-Friend

Published February 19, 2024, 12:06 PM EST

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Former UFC Champion, Israel Adesanya was spotted training at a centre recently after his title loss last year. Currently, he is out of action, nursing his injuries and training for his next fight. Joining him in the ring is a WWE superstar who has also been nursing her injuries for a long time. This superstar, a close friend of Bayley, was spotted training with the former champion.

Dakota Kai poses with Israel Adesanya during training

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling posted a picture on February 18th from the training center as Israel Adesanya posed with injured WWE Superstar Dakota Kai. It was uploaded with the caption, “Dakota Kai and Israel Adesanya”.

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Israel Adsenaya, the former UFC middleweight champion, is training after his title loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Responding to his loss, Adesanya said, “How did I feel in there? Like a bad dream…Not even a nightmare. A nightmare is like ‘Oh s***, f***.´… A nightmare is like, you know you’re scared. But this is like – you try and hit the guy [and] it just feels like noodle arms…It just felt like a bad dream.” But he is trying his best to get back to his former status.

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Both superstars are recovering from injuries. While Adesanya last competed on September 10th at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Dakota Kai is recovering from her injury which she sustained in May of last year due to a torn ACL.

“Comeback Szn”: Bayley’s Former Partner Teases WWE Return Days After Being Spotted Without Brace on Raw

Interestingly, both performers are from New Zealand and are somehow related to the combat sports industry. Dakota Kai’s sister is a member of City Kick Boxing from Auckland, which explains the reason behind King Kota’s wrestling background.

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Dakota Kai and Israel Adesanya: An unexpected crossover, one of possibly many

It is the crossover that neither WWE fans nor UFC fans expected years before. However, the fans are in for a treat for the two sports behemoths merged to form TKO Group. The results of the merger are already visible to fans across various platforms as well, as evidenced by Kai and Adesanya.

Similarly, WWE superstars CM Punk, Montez Ford, and Bianca Belair were recently spotted at UFC 298 at Honda Center, Utah last week. The superstars attended the show as Monday Night RAW for the week was also scheduled at the same venue. Perhaps, the future holds a similar schedule for the brands going ahead.

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Do you want to see more crossovers between the two brands?

Watch this story: “You’ll Get Your Beating”: Rhea Ripley Promises Consequences After Catching Top Star Squatting in The Judgment Day Locker Room on WWE Raw

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Written by:

Himangshu Sinha

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One take at a time

Himangshu Sinha is a WWE reporter at EssentiallySports who is a beast at keeping up with the latest in the wrestling world. He enjoys covering the lives of wrestlers, often poring over interviews, podcasts, and overlooked details to back his writing. While he maintains a respect for Gunther, LA Knight, and The Tribal Chief, in his mind, no one can beat one of AEW’s Best Friends, Orange Cassidy.
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Edited by:

Donna Eva