UFC 293’s press conference did not completely go as planned for Israel Adesanya. There were moments where he seemed to be in the negative light bringing disrepute to himself. In this article, we will take a look at five moments from the presser where Adesanya was shown as the ‘bad guy’.
The Nigerian-Kiwi fighter is set to face Sean Strickland this week. Strickland is famous for his scathing attacks during pressers. The American did not disappoint this time out as he came prepared. There were two ways in which Strickland demeaned Adesanya heavily.
Firstly, Strickland relentlessly mentioned Adesanya’s “dog fetish”. A YouTuber called The MMA Guru alleged that Adesanya has a “dog fetish”. This proved to be ammo for Strickland who did not leave a chance to mention it. Secondly, Strickland kept calling Adesanya “Chinaman”. This was in relation to The Last Stylebender’s advertisement where he calls himself Chinese.
Thirdly, what made matters worse was that Adesanya did not defend himself. He let the onslaught about the alleged “dog fetish” and “Chinaman” continue. Albeit, he had a good comeback when he claimed that he would be a fool if he started arguing with one.
Fourthly, the presser took a wild turn when Israel Adesanya got into an unexpected verbal spat with Manel Kape. The pair hurled abuses at each other and Adesanya called Kape a “cracker a*s.” It is a derogatory and ethnic slur. Adesanya also called the Flyweight fighter a “mid*et”.
Manel Kape and Israel Adesanya almost fight each other 😂☠️ #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/SzSRSN10Tr
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) September 7, 2023
Next came Adesanya’s attacks on Strickland for his association with Monster. The UFC Middleweight Champion called Strickland a sellout as he signed for Monster. He called out Monster while himself being associated with WWE star Logan Paul. The YouTube megastar is very well-known for the CryptoZoo ‘scam’ that has left him to return over $1 million to investors.
Israel Adesanya used racial slurs against Dricus du Plessis
This was not the first time Adesanya had used the racial slur “cracker”. Just a few months ago, the UFC Middleweight champion called Dricus du Plessis a ‘cracker’.
It all started in March when Du Plessis took a dig at Adesanya and Kumaru Usman by claiming that when he became champion, he would be the first true African champion. Du Plessis referred to the fact that neither of those fighters now lives in Africa. Although they have African descent, Du Plessis claimed they are not true Africans. Adesanya was extremely offended by this.
Imagine if Dricus said this about Izzy, if he called him the n word.
Imagine how much backlash he’d be getting right now?
Israel Adesanya openly being racist and calling Dricus a cracker is another reason as to why I hope Dricus beats Rob and dethrones Izzy pic.twitter.com/01UcEY9XRV
— Sodapop 🇰🇷 (@RuthlessSodapop) April 27, 2023
In April, he said, “I never did that to him. I never, ever discredited him as an African. OK, you are. Cool. You want to make a fight? Cool. But the fact that, as a f*cking cracker, to tell me who the f*ck I am, that pissed me off. And that’s why he’s my next fight, because I don’t want to fight anyone else. This one pisses me off.”
Adesanya has not faced any consequences yet for using these words. It will be interesting to see if any actions are taken in the future.
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