Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
A dancer who contributed to Israel Adesanya’s stunning UFC 243 walkout was attacked after the event.
Prior to winning the UFC middleweight title with a thrilling win over Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya delighted MMA watchers with a highly choreographed walkout routine that would have made James Te Huna and Akihiro Gono proud.
Israel Adesanya just changed the walkout game @stylebender #UFC243 pic.twitter.com/fyj6zHuqCd
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 6, 2019
With a crew of three back-up dancers Adesanya performed an anime-inspired routine before being surrounded by his fight team at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium. The Nigerian-born New Zealander would then go on to TKO Whittaker in the 2nd round to claim his first UFC title.
According to the Daily Mail (who get their information from Australia’s Herald Sun) ,one of Adesanya’s back-up dancers was attacked after the event while he was walking to the nearby Southern Cross Station. The dancer is a 28-year-old who works as a youth prison guard at Melbourne’s Parkville Youth Justice Centre.
It is reported that the dancer’s attacker — a former Parkville inmate — recognized the dancer at the event. The dancer was left with minor injuries after the incident.
A spokesperson with the Victoria Police told Daily Mail that, “Victoria Police is investigating after a 28-year-old man was physically assaulted by a number of young people near Southern Cross Railway Station between 4-6pm on 6 October.”
Anyone with information about the attack has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers Australia at 1800 333 000.