Israel Adesanya is not afraid to voice out his feelings. In a world full of battle-hard veterans that is the UFC, the former middleweight champion stands out as an unconventional example of masculinity who finds comfort in watching anime, wearing nail paint, and doing TikTok dances. Not to mention, he is not hesitant to wear his heart on his sleeve. The latest example of this came after ‘The Last Stylebender’ was apparently so moved by comedian Aakash Singh‘s heartfelt message about not taking his loved ones for granted.

The comedian, who is co-host of the ‘Flagrant’ podcast with Andrew Schulz, opened up about how the untimely death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant compelled him to try and express his appreciation for those closest to him.

“Another Kobe impact that I personally felt in my life. If you’re a friend of mine, I love you, I’ll say it pretty quickly within our friendship. And I got that because Kobe, to me, was invincible. He would play through every injury. I never thought this guy, never crossed my mind that that guy could die that young. And when he died, I was like ‘Oh wow, this is true,” Singh stated with sincerity.

So shaken was Singh at the larger-than-life Bryant’s death that he decided to tell his friends that he loves them so that he doesn’t regret not doing so when he has a chance. He would recall how he even told Joe Rogan he loved him, just because he had the opportunity to and didn’t mind at all the podcast host not reciprocating.

“Anybody can die at any time.’ Tell motherf***ers you love them because you don’t know what’s going to happen. If you love them at all, just tell them. Say ‘I love you.’ Dude, I’ve said it to Joe Rogan… You don’t have to say it back to me. I’m gonna say it to you because I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future, and I don’t wanna be like ‘Ugh, I was too insecure to say that, and now I can’t,” an emotional Singh added.

And ‘Izzy’ posted a clip of the comedian saying this on his Instagram Story along with a short yet moving caption, where he told his fans “I love you 🥰.” For now, however, Adesanya isn’t very hot among UFC fans given his recent setbacks. This is why his most ardent fans, whom ‘Izzy’s message was undoubtedly aimed at, are curious about one very intriguing question.

What is next for Israel Adesanya?

The past fourteen months have been terrible for Israel Adesanya. After all, the Kiwi-Nigerian lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland last year in what is perhaps one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. This caused ‘Izzy’ to go on a hiatus, and returned to action this August to try and recapture his title from reigning champ Dricus Du Plessis.

However, that also didn’t go Adesanya’s way as he was submitted in the fourth round by the South African, just as it looked like the former champ was getting into his groove. Now ‘Izzy’ will have to make the long trek up the title ladder. But the question on many people’s minds is- who will he fight next?

#1 Sean Strickland can be ruled out since he is confirmed to be next in line for the title. #3 Khamzat Chimaev also seems virtually set to face the winner of Du Plessis-Strickland 2, and can also be ruled out. Most among the top ten have already fought against Adesanya, which makes them very unlikely to be next for ‘Izzy’. This leaves three top-ranked guys who come to mind.

Of course, there is his old rival and fellow Kiwi former champ, Robert Whittaker, who is coming off a tough loss to Chimaev. Then there are the up-and-coming #5 ranked Nassourdine Imavov and #6 Caio Borralho, who could face ‘Izzy’ in his bounce-back fight. What do you think about Israel Adesanya’s reaction to Aakash Singh’s heartfelt message? And when can we see Izzy returning to the Octagon? Tell us in the comment section below!