New Zealand-raised UFC middleweight champion Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya will never fight in his home country again.
According to a video posted on YouTube, Adesanya is disgusted with how New Zealand’s “bureaucrats” treated his teammate Dan Hooker, and promised that he won’t be competing at home ever again.
Angry Adesanya Will “Never Fight in New Zealand Again”
“You will never see me fight in New Zealand ever again. All that money, they can get it from somewhere else. Their rugbys, their crickets and all the others they’re giving exemptions to, but you will never ever see me fight on these shores.
That was one of my dreams, to headline a stadium in my backyard. That dream’s dead in the water … that’s just the way I feel right now.”
Dan “Hangman” Hooker, who is due to compete at UFC 266 this weekend, was repeatedly warned by police about his training violating COVID-19 restrictions. New Zealand’s journalists staked out Hooker’s gym in an attempt to catch the fighter out.
“That pissed me off, It’s like ‘really, this is what you’re using your privilege to do?’ The constant effort to stifle, to break up, to disrupt our team at City Kickboxing from helping team captain Dan ‘Hangman’ Hooker for getting ready for his fight, that’s pissed me off the most.”
Adesanya continued to slam his home of New Zealand, explaining that a “racist” element in New Zealand’s society doesn’t want him representing the country. Adesanya refuses to wear a flag to the Octagon, preferring to pledge his allegiance to friends and family regardless of nationality.
“I don’t really rock flags; I’m not really a patriot like that. For me, I’m about my people and if you’re my people you know you’re my people – I don’t give a f*** where in the world you’re from.”
He talks too much, he’s not humble enough, he doesn’t represent us Kiwis,” he mimicked his critics. “They’re racists, some of them are f***ing racists. Of course they don’t want a black boy representing New Zealand. But you’re doing this to Dan Hangman Hooker!”
Israel Adesanya might feel that he isn’t getting the respect he deserves at home. He is one of the UFC’s biggest draws, a reigning champion who has yet to lose a fight in the middleweight division.
Adesanya’s outspoken personality and flashy, powerful kickboxing-based fighting style have made him a star, but perhaps not as big a star in his own back yard as he’d prefer.
Would you want to see a UFC event in New Zealand, or is “The Last Stylebender” better off chasing his fortunes elsewhere? Let us know in the comments.
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