Video: Adesanya explains ‘Death Note’ anime reference at UFC 243

Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports

Israel Adesanya is the new middleweight champion. He’s also a big fan of Tsugumi Ohba’s Death Note series, apparently

With a brutal counter left hook at UFC 243, Israel Adesanya is the new, UFC middleweight champion. Not only was it a brilliant performance, and the proverbial passing of the torch, but luckily for us, he’s bringing his colorful personality along with it.

You probably weren’t the only one to notice Adesanya miming some pre-fight bookwriting. What was it?

“I have a shinigami with me. And I just had to write his name because I knew — he’s not gonna last. I just wrote his name in a death note. Those who know the rules of the death note, they know. There’s a certain timeframe. After your name’s written in the death note, the shinigami will get you.”

Some people may find it a little cheesy. But I wonder if those people remember Kimo walking out with a cross the size of Francis Ngannou. We’ve come a long way, folks. We’ve come a long — oh.

It’s worth noting that fans have already done some pretty cool things with this revelation.