UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has apologised for his controversial comments referencing the 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers.
During the UFC 248 press conference call, Israel Adesanya made a comment that he would make his next opponent Yoel Romero “crumble like the twin towers” in their next months fight in Las Vegas.
Understandably, this 9/11 reference did not go down well with a lot of people in the MMA Community, including top Middleweight contender Paulo Costa who went after Israel Adesanya, saying he will “kill him” for his disrespectful comments.
“Israel Adesanya. You are a disgusting piece of shit. How dare you make a joke disrespecting the thousands who died and the heroic firefighters and police. I will really kill you, dirty kiwi.” Paulo Costa wrote on his Twitter following Adesanya’s comments.
Adesanya has since responded to the backlash he received with the following statement on his Instagram live feed.
“I never made a joke about people dying or made light of the tragic event that was 9/11,” Israel Adesanya explained. “I was simply rambling and my brain worked faster than my mouth in a moment to (choose) the wrong euphemism. You speak on the mic enough times and you’re bound to miss the mark with some bars. I did on this one and for that I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful in (the) future with my words.”
Adesanya is defending his Middleweight title at next month’s UFC 248 event in Las Vegas, taking on one of the best in the division, contender Yoel Romero.
If Israel Adesanya can get his hand raised against ‘The Soldier if God’, a fight with undefeated Brazilian Paulo Costa is likely next for the Middleweight champion.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on February 24, 2020.
Discussion about this post