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During a conference call ahead of UFC 248, Israel Adesanya said that he would make his opponent Yoel Romero crumble like the "twin towers" - which was instantly deemed as insensitive due to the 9/11 attacks.
His original challenger Paulo Costa didn't take kindly to these comments, calling Adesanya a "disgusting piece of s**t" and saying "I will really kill you, dirty kiwi."
Adesanya was quick to apologize for his comments on Instagram Live (H/T BJPENN.com):
“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.”
We're glad that this is all in the past now. Adesanya is normally well-spoken and has done hundreds of media appearances, and this was the first time he really slipped up. While it was undoubtedly an inappropriate joke, it was also unintentional - and could happen to anyone.
Tune in to Sportskeeda on March 7th/8th for our live coverage of UFC 248: Adesanya vs Romero.
