In the lead up to UFC 221, we tried to educate you on Israel Adesanya and why his debut — despite barely any promotion — was one the most hyped UFC debuts since Conor McGregor. He didn’t let any “kickboxing hipsters” who were singing his praises to friends on social media down, as he dominated his fight with surgical precision then proceeded to cut a fun promo in the Octagon. After a nearly 80 fight journey has finally culminated in being in the premier MMA league on the planet, he recently sent a message to those that closed the doors on him.

“Sponsors. Shout out to the ones that turned me down. The ones that said, “You’re not what were looking for at the moment.’ The ones that “helped” me only to help themselves, then keep reminding you they “helped” you four years ago. I f-ck with Ash James [from ENGAGE Fight Wear] because he saw the potential of what I could do beyond just fighting. He bought in early and helped me along some highs and lows of this game, because he’s a good c-nt. The rest of you corporations  trying to buy in now because I’m hot in these streets, my stock is rising, it’s gonna keep rising and the buy-in rate just tripled. Also, you have to be a GC.”—Israel Adesanya via his official Instagram.

Middleweights, listen up!@Stylebender #UFC221 pic.twitter.com/83GC0rfA5e

— UFC (@ufc) February 11, 2018

Nothing feels better than sticking it to those people who never gave you the shot, but now are pouring out of the woodwork to hop on the bandwagon. Israel Adesanya’s performance was so great, the UFC re-aired with the extra time they had directly after UFC 221. After his perfect debut, they’ll be a lot more than the eyes of sponsors on the Style Bender’s next fight. Now, we just wait to see how the UFC will move forward with Adesanya. Will he be fast-tracked, or built up low and slow? Either way, Adesanya sure looks ready.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/13/2018.