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Israel Adesanya has called out critics of Muhammad Ali by suggesting they wouldn’t have liked him in his prime for “speaking his truth.”
Right now there are few better mixed martial artists residing in the UFC than Israel Adesanya. From his precision to his timing and power, 'The Last Stylebender' certainly knows how to put on a show. Over the years, many have drawn comparisons between Izzy and Muhammad Ali.
Earlier today on social media, Israel Adesanya opted to pay tribute to Ali by bringing up a clip of the boxing legend calling out two women for racism on a talk show.
See Adesanya's Twitter post praising Ali below:
For better audio, check out the incident in the video below:
“A lot of you wouldn’t have liked him cuz he spoke his truth. The n**** was RAW!! #AvatarRoku”
Muhammad Ali always stuck up for what he believed in. When it comes to activism, few athletes have ever compared to the heavyweight boxing great. Nobody ever succeeded in telling him what to do or what to say. Instead, he forged his own path. With that in mind, it makes sense that Israel Adesanya would want to look up to somebody like that.
Israel Adesanya is expected to face Robert Whittaker next
Israel Adesanya likely hasn't faced the same kind of scrutiny on the same kind of scale as Ali. But you can bet there have been plenty of folks out there who told the Nigerian-New Zealander that he couldn’t achieve what he has in the manner in which he’s done it.
Right now, the big talk around the middleweight division is that Israel Adesanya will defend his belt against rival Robert Whittaker in the early stages of 2022. In preparation for that bout, we’ve seen 'The Last Stylebender' take his training very seriously. We’ve also seen him expand his horizons with a string of other projects.
Fighters are often taken for granted. In this instance, it’s important to step back and appreciate a great competitor and individual when he’s right in front of us.
