Israel Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, paid tribute to his late City Kickboxing colleague Fau Vake.
In response to the news of his teammate’s tragic death, Adesanya took to Instagram and shared a clip from a conversation he had with Vake earlier this year.
The following is a conversation between Adesanya and Vake that the former posted on his Instagram story:
“I’m not sure what y’all were yakking about, but you made an impression, bruv,” said Adesanya.
“Just some fine yarns about life, toko,” Vake replied.
Adesanya said, “Excellent work, young man. Matt is still singing your praises. Tokoua, my heartfelt condolences.”
“F***k man… they know how to make a man blush hahaha, much love toko,” says Vake.
The conversation demonstrates that Vake was a pleasant person who was valued and adored by his friends and family.
Vake was fighting for his life in an Auckland hospital after being brutally attacked by four men on Sunday.
City Kickboxing issued an official statement earlier today stating that Vake died as a result of his injuries.
“It is with inexplicable sadness almost seven days to the hour after his hospital admission, Fau’s fight to find his way back to us ended. We will speak when the time is right to ensure Fau’s loss is not forgotten, but for now please respect our privacy,” City Kickboxing stated.
Adesanya’s coach asks for tougher penalties
Eugene Bareman, head coach of City Kickboxing, has called for tougher penalties for people hitting one another from behind.
In 2018, a National Party member introduced legislation that would increase the penalty for coward punching to a maximum term of 20 years in jail. However, the aforementioned bill was later rejected by Parliament.
“It’s hard for us to fathom why that law wasn’t passed through at its first reading and clearly there isn’t enough of a deterrent. Clearly, our Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi doesn’t have his ear to the street,” Bareman said on the AM Show.
“He is welcome to come with me and go for a walk on a Saturday night through town, and he will get a figurative slap in the face, because there is a lot [of violence] going on in town.
“When you go up behind someone and hit them in the head, your only intent is to inflict as much damage as you can and, ultimately, that is death.”