Nollywood actress, Ifu Ennada, has expressed her admiration for UFC’s middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, citing his confidence, good looks, and humor as some of the traits she finds attractive. Ennada particularly referenced Adesanya's recent mocking of Pereira's son after winning a fight, stating that she loves his pettiness and would love to go on a date with him if he were interested.
Ennada, who used to be a big fan of wrestling until she discovered that the matches were scripted, now follows MMA, especially the Nigerian fighters, Adesanya and Kamaru Usman.
Speaking further about her admiration for Adesanya, Ennada said: "My favourite would be Israel, and aside from the fact that he is extremely handsome and hot, the fact that he is also petty, I love it. What he did to Pereira’s son by mocking him the way he did after he won, I love it. Some people were saying ‘why’, and I’m like ‘why not?’ I like the fact that he looked for the guy and gave it back to him. I know he is an adult, but that is something someone like me would do, so, I love him for that. He is very confident, I just love Izzy, he walks into a room and you can feel his energy, and that is the type of person I am as well. If he wants to go on a date with me, why not?"
Ennada also shared her excitement after Adesanya's recent win, stating that she had a feeling he would win and even considered placing a bet on him. However, she expressed disappointment at the tribalistic comments made by some people online, particularly one person who tried to bring politics into the conversation by saying "Igbos only choose to be Nigerian when it is convenient" because Adesanya is Yoruba. She stressed that she sees herself as a Nigerian regardless of her tribe and that it is sad that tribalism is being brought into sports.