Israel Adesanya, Nigerian-New Zealander mixed martial
artist, has been chalked off an endorsement deal with Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG (BMW) over an insensitive comment about rape.
Adesanya was due to be announced BMW ambassador in New
Zealand this week, but the automobile company has pulled the plug on the deal.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight
champion, earlier this week, released a controversial video on social media
where he made an unsavory outburst against Kelvin Holland, a fellow UFC
fighter.
The Nigerian had threatened to “rape” Holland in what he
perceived to be a “fight talk”.
But according to New Zealand Herald, BMW, in a statement on
Friday, announced its effective disassociation from the champion.
“Due to the comments made by an athlete online, we have
reviewed our pending association with said athlete and we have decided not to
push forward with a specific ambassador for the brand at this time in New
Zealand,” the statement read.
Adesanya has since deleted the video while issuing an
apology on social media for the misconduct.
“Last weekend fight talk escalated to a point in which I
crossed the line,” he wrote.
“I understand the gravity of this word and how it can affect
and hurt other people apart from my opponent, although that was NEVER my
intention. I am still growing under the spotlight, and I take this as a lesson
to be more selective with words under pressure.”
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/ah6ajlQBlm
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) March 25, 2021
The 31-year-old failed in his last bout to become UFC light
heavyweight champion after losing to Jan Blachowicz via a unanimous decision.
He, however, remains the UFC middleweight champion with a couple of successful title defenses under his belt.
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