After months of getting trolled online following his KO loss last year, Israel Adesanya finally shut down his haters with a devastating knockout win over long-time adversary Alex Pereira. Naturally, with a satisfying win like this, ‘The Last Stylebender’ decided to reward himself with an after-party for his friends and a whole group of MMA fighters and legends, but something about Chuck Liddell caught negative attention.
As clips of this celebration started going viral, reactions from MMA fans started pouring in. Seen in the videos were former champ Kamaru Usman, Bellator fighter Michael Page, Tito Ortiz, and surprisingly even Chuck Liddell. Liddell’s presence at the party came as a huge surprise since the former champ was very recently seen with Pereira ahead of UFC 287, helping him train for the fight. Reacting to this, fans went all out on the legend, claiming that he chose to switch sides after Pereira’s loss.
Fans react to Israel Adesanya’s after party following UFC 287 win
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A clip posted on Twitter showed Adesanya, Usman, and the others enjoying themselves in the middle of a club as hundreds of fans and supporters danced along with them.
Many of the reactions on the Twitter thread expressed their shock at seeing Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell together. While that in itself was surprising, what took them aback was Liddell’s presence at the party. The former UFC champ was seen training with Pereira ahead of the fight, and no one expected that he would end up at Adesanya’s after-party.
Wasnt chuck in pereira training camp for this fight ?!
— Eddie Danaher (@DDeathSquadd) April 9, 2023
The majority of the reactions also showed that exact sentiment in the Twitter thread.
I love Chuck but that man was helping Alex train to beat izzy now he's at izzy party lmayo
— 🏴☠️ (@BucsLifeItIs) April 9, 2023
Another individual tweeted his surprise at seeing Ortiz and Liddell together. The rivalry between the two legends was one of the biggest back in their heydays as fighters.
Seeing chuck and Tito as friends weirds me out
— jactuscac (@FreddysFDBC) April 9, 2023
The moment chuck saw the camera he bounced 😂😂
— Jameis Winston’s 4th friend (@DrAstrophysic) April 9, 2023
Someone also pointed out the apparent awkwardness that Liddell displayed.
nah im crying why he partying with them old men tito and chuck look so uncomfortable lmaooooo https://t.co/bOXGQMXG99
— Cray (@bslcray) April 9, 2023
Tito’s a mood https://t.co/QSwiCxRIgz
— graffanati19 (@graffanati19) April 9, 2023
The fact that a number of notable names were present at the party also left one fan amazed.
Izzy, Usman, Liddell, Ortiz… that’s going to be a wild night! https://t.co/ZChO9iIiJI
— TheButcher832 (@K_Ybarbo38) April 9, 2023
Another post on Instagram also drew similar reactions from fans.
View this post on Instagram
Quite a few of the comments even accused Liddell of jumping ship.
“Chuck is a snake”
“Chuck switched sides quick”
“LOOOOL chuck lidell the turn coat isnt he meant to be poatans friend”
“Chuck and tito like the grandparents in the ball pit at play centers”
Chuck Liddell earlier predicted Alex Pereira to beat Israel Adesanya
Having helped ‘Poatan’ in his training camp for UFC 287, ‘The Iceman’ had earlier shown his support for the Brazilian ahead of the fight. The UFC Hall of Famer had even gone on to claim that Pereira would eventually win by a knockout owing to the previous wins that he had over Adesanya.
Thus, looking back at his prediction and his involvement with Pereia’s camp, it clearly came as a shocker for fans to see him enjoying Adesanya’s post-win celebrations.
Maybe being the legend that he is, Liddell was just having a good time as different clips from the party also showed him and the middleweight champ having a conversation and showing their respect for each other.
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Do you think Chuck Liddell switched sides? Or is the legend just having a good time? Let us know what you feel in the comment section below.
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