UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has been at the centre of controversy once again. The man who appeared in the main event of UFC 259 took to Instagram to throw a verbal jab at Kevin Holland, who himself appeared in this past weekend’s Fight Night event.
In a now deleted Instagram post, Adesanya said to Holland ‘bro, I will f***ing rape you.’
Following those comments, Adesanya has lost out on a major sponsorship deal with BMW. According to the New Zealand outlet Stuff, BMW was set to unveil Israel Adesanya as the new face of BMW New Zealand.
BMW on Israel Adesanya
BMW released a statement on the situation. ‘Due to the comments made by an athlete online, we have reviewed our pending association with said athlete and we have decided not to push forward with a specific ambassador for the brand at this time in New Zealand.’
The prime minister of New Zealand Grant Robertson has also commented on the situation, and has asked the UFC to take action against the Middleweight Champion. ‘There is never a time to make flippant comments about rape’ Robertson stated. ‘It’s just not something anybody should do.’
‘I’m sure Israel understands that’ Robertson continued. ‘I believe he has deleted the tweet in question. It will be up to the UFC as to what they do. But I would certainly be making clear to him, and to anybody actually, that we have to take rape seriously.
‘It’s not an issue that anyone should be making jokes or flippant comments about at all’ Robertson concluded.
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