Israel Adesanya has paid tribute to a fallen team-mate and reiterated a plea to the New Zealand government after the latest defence of his mixed martial arts world title.
Adesanya easily retained the UFC middleweight belt in Arizona yesterday - winning all five rounds on all three scorecards in his rematch with Italian Marvin Vettori.
The win comes just three weeks after team-mate Fau Vake was allegedly assaulted by four men in central Auckland - before dying of his injuries in hospital a week later.
As well as dedicating the victory to Vake, Adesanya has used the moment to ask Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to reconsider tougher punishments for so-called "coward punches".
Clay Wilson reports.
