UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has always been very serious about his heritage. Questions were raised by another middleweight Dricus du Plessis on Izzy’s authenticity as and African. This led to a very strong rivalry between them.
The fued between them got heated when they faced each other after du Plessis’ win against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Adesanya unleashed several racist comments for du Plessis and was later criticized by many. The duo is now expected to face each other at UFC 293 in September for the title.
“Still knocks” had given the argument that Adesanya had grown up in New Zealand so he does not have the right to use the African label.
However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has recently shared a Tweet which shows how important his heritage and ethnicity is to him. and how relevant it was growing up.
PAIN‼️
Pain is my friend.
I’ve known him my whole life. https://t.co/h6Mb23I26b— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) July 17, 2023
This was a fan post that explained that moving to New Zealand from Nigeria must have been really tough for the UFC champion. The statement was justified by the argument that New Zealand was the probably the first time when Izzy faced racism as a teenager. The fan further wrote that New Zealand was more like his adopted home. The place where Adesanya felt more at home was certainly Nigeria.
Responding to this, Israel Adesanya wrote: “Pain! Pain is my Friend. I’ve known him my whole life.”
So, as the tweet from the Stylebender suggests, his teenage experiences can be a big reason why he is so particular about his heritage.
UFC fans accuse Israel Adesanya of racism for his rant on Dricus du Plessis
As Adesanya has himself faced racism on multiple occasions in his life, his comments with racial undertones on Dricus du Plessis did not at all go well the with the fans.
Apart from a famous rant inside the Octagon at UFC 290 with several racial slurs for du Plessis, Adesanya also spoke on the South African’s race on certain interviews.
The fight fans did not like it and tweeted about the same:
South African Dricus just KO’ed Robert Whittaker, so Israel Adesanya went into the ring to call Dricus the n-word 20 times. Israel had already called him a “cracker” in an interview with chosen journalist Ariel Helwani. Being openly racist against White people is totally kosher. pic.twitter.com/xGIdht3Mhd
— René Gaed (@RennyGator) July 9, 2023
A Twitter account posted a video that has many clips of the UFC champion speaking questionable stuff.
Israel Adesanya’s @stylebender recent behaviour has been incredibly racist and divisive. He has pushed away his white fans. Here are some examples of his racist rhetoric. pic.twitter.com/5KkUNlK6da
— Wocumentaries (@LooAnon) July 14, 2023
Another Twitter user posted a screenshot of a YouTube comment speaking about the kind of hatred that was being reflected each time Adesanya used the N-word for du Plessis.
Israel Adesanya should apologize for his crazy drunken racist rant in the octagon. Dude lost so many fans…
Read the below #ufc pic.twitter.com/UoMmDZJJgd
— LIFE IS WAR (@LIFEisWAR_Enjoy) July 13, 2023
‘The Stylebender’ then accepted his mistake on his YouTube channel and said, “I was giving him [du Plessis] energy, like positive affirmations. But yeah, when it happened, I just lost my sh*t.”
While whatever happened is not great for the fight game but it has for sure built up some hype for UFC 293 in Sydney where the two middleweights will face each other.
