"There goes all respect for that man" - Internet reacts to former UFC champion Israel Adesanya making a "Black joke" about Charlie Kirk

MMA fighter and former UFC champion Israel Adesanya took jibes at Charlie Kirk this week, triggering a wave of backlash.

The former UFC middleweight champion was at the center of controversy this week after a video surfaced of him cracking a "black joke" at the late conservative provocateur. In the video, Adesanya says:

"I'll call this the Kirk shot... you know that black joke I told?"

The video has been going viral online, with one user after the other slamming the athlete for his comment. Here's how one user reacted, for instance:

"There goes all respect for that man. How disgusting"

The comments didn't end there:

"This can't be true. I'm going to take a stand right now and say this is not what he meant. I followed this man's whole career and I know him, there's no way this is a reference to Charlie Kirk," someone defended the athlete.

"Yeah this is gonna go over real well with Dana and UFC fans," another penned, sarcastically.

"Well just lost respect for one of my favorite fighters. Why do they always have to open their mouths about stuff they don't understand," one more questioned.

"Wonder how he's going to back peddle from this one once he sobers up," a fourth user weighed in.

See how the rest of X is reacting:

"Make him fight Perreria in the heavyweight division for this," one user demanded.

"Whats izzy doing man?" another questioned.

"Not cool. I like Izzy, this is poor taste," someone else opined.

"Guess it’s a good thing for him his career is over already," yet another claimed.

Israel Adesanya's old rival Yousri Belgaroui says he's moved on from bouts with him: Read more

As of this writing, Israel Adesanya has yet to address the backlash, and neither he nor his team has commented on the video. It also remains unclear why he cracked a joke at the late Kirk's expense.

However, he made headlines just days ago when he rekindled his feud with former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira. After the two went 1-1 against each other, Israel Adesanya came out on top with a knockout win two years ago.

Over the weekend, however, Tunisian striker Yousri Belgaroui competed at the Octagon proper on Dana White’s Contender Series. Following a third-round knockout win against Azamat Bekoev at UFC Vancouver, Belgaroui advanced to 9-3 in mixed martial arts.

He previously got in the ring with Israel Adesanya twice, suffering a loss both times. Following UFC Vancouver, he spoke to the media about a possible bout with the latter, especially now that he's training with Pereira.

“He’s (Israel Adesanya) an exciting guy, he’s a great striker,” Belgaroui said. “I’m sure it would be a beautiful fight. I think we can make a great fight for the fans. I don’t have personal issues with him,” Belgaroui explained. “I know he’s up there, like he’s done a lot for the sport, for himself. So it wouldn’t make sense to call him out right now, but down the line, if that fight makes sense, I’m sure it’s gonna be very, very cool to make that one.”

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