"He’ll crumble like the Twin Towers" - When Israel Adesanya's bizarre reference to 9/11 tragedy resulted in severe backlash

The UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, mostly desists from making controversial statements on sensitive topics. However, he found himself in hot water after making a reference to the Twin Towers tragedy of 9/11 in a pre-fight media interaction in 2020, where he said:

"I’ll touch him enough times. I’ll touch him enough times and eventually he’ll crumble like the Twin Towers.”

Check out these X posts about the incident:

Israel Adesanya faced Yoel Romero at UFC 248 in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the middleweight title, where he outperformed Romero and secured a unanimous decision victory. Prior to their fight, his bizarre reference to the tragedy of the September 11 attacks of 2001, which claimed over 3,000 lives, was called out by many, including fellow UFC fighter Paulo Costa. The Nigerian-born Kiwi fighter issued an apology on his social media accounts and assured fans that he'd never make such a comment again.

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Israel Adesanya chooses Sean O'Malley to prevail over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292

Israel Adesanya picked Sean O'Malley to beat bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in their bantamweight title showdown at UFC 292. He praised both Sterling and O'Malley for their skill sets and fighting styles in the breakdown of their upcoming bout on his YouTube channel. Adesanya, however, chose Sean O'Malley to prevail over Aljamain Sterling due to his footwork, precise striking, and positioning, provided he survives all five rounds of the bout.

“Aljamain’s grabbing a hold of him and beat him up, Sean keeping him away with good footwork, good positioning and pinpoint striking. Also, Sean’s slick on the ground. Scramble for your life. Do not let him get settled because the more he settles, the stronger he gets. If it goes the distance, I think he can do it. O’Malley’s locked in. I think he can do five rounds. I’m going to go Sean, official pick. I’m going to go Sean with this one. Sometimes you just feel like it’s time, it’s destiny.”

Watch the video below (11:05):