Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya has drawn the ire of a rival after making a jibe about the Twin Towers.
Adesanya, UFC's middleweight champion and recent Halberg Sportsman of the Year, was promoting his upcoming fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 248.
“He’s a guy no one wants to fight,” Adesanya said.
“Boogeyman, everyone keeps saying, oh – even [UFC fighter] Darren Till – ‘I’ll fight anyone except Yoel.’ Like, why?
"I’ve seen him get rocked. I’ve seen him get stopped. I’ve seen him get bloodied. I’ve seen him cry. I’ll make him cry.
"He’s human like anyone else, and everyone likes to make this myth about, ‘Oh, he’s steel, like kicking steel,’ or you hit him and he doesn’t fall.
"I’ll touch him enough times. I’ll touch him enough times and eventually he’ll crumble like the Twin Towers."
New York's Twin Towers were destroyed on 9/11 in a terrorist attack, killing 2763 people.
Adesanya's comments were criticised by many, with rival Paulo Costa not holding back.
"Adesanya," he wrote on Twitter.
"You are a disgusting piece of s***. How dare you make a joke disrespecting the thousands who died and the heroic firefighters and police. I will really kill you, dirty kiwi."
This morning, Adesanya took to Instagram to apologise.
"I never made a joke about people dying or made light of the tragic event that was 9/11," Adesanya wrote.
"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."
SHARE ME