At the Ahavat HaShem Gordon event: The athlete closest to Deni Avdija is revealed
The NBA star watched the martial arts event at the Menora Arena up close. One of the reasons was his close friendship with fighter Ilay Barzilay, who recorded a huge victory. The basketball player praised: "From elementary school to here, goosebumps."
Anyone who watched the Gordon family martial arts event last night (Monday) at the Menora Arena could not have missed Deni Avdija in the seats near the ring. However, it now turns out that the Israeli NBA star was not only there out of love for the sport, but because of a close friendship with one of the participants.
Even before the main heavyweight fights of 'Ruach HaShem' and 'Ahavat HaShem' Gordon, many Israeli fighters from various categories took to the ring against their counterparts from around the world. One of them was Ilay Barzilay, who defeated Brazilian Lucas Almeida by judges' decision and took a significant step on the way to the UFC.
The friendship between Avdija and Barzilay, it seems, goes back years. During the evening, Avdija uploaded an Instagram story in which he filmed Barzilay in the ring and wrote: "From elementary school to here, goosebumps."
Barzilay himself, at the end of his fight, noted to the crowd the presence of the NBA star who was there. After Avdija had managed to lift the Menora Arena to its feet as a young player for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Barzilay got to experience that himself after an entire career of fighting abroad.
