UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya hilariously accused former Middleweight champion Michael Bisping of being racist during UFC 275.
Israel Adesanya recently streamed his reactions to UFC 275. Adesanya watched the card in the company of his parents as well as several friends.
On one occasion, Adesanya jokingly accused Bisping of racism after butchering the name of a Japanese MMA legend.
Michael Bisping was commentating on the women’s flyweight title fight between Valentinca Shevchenko and Taila Santos. Shevchenko was attempting a Gogoplata choke and Bisping referred to a time where Nick Diaz pulled the same move against Takanori Gomi at Pride 33 back in 2007.
However, Bisping failed to spell Takanori Gomi’s name correctly. Instead, the 43-year-old Englishman referred to him as ‘Akihiro Gono’. Israel Adesanya can be seen quite disappointed by Bisping’s lack of knowledge and jokingly called Bisping a racist and colonizer.
“No way! A Gogo! [Gogoplata]. I was like, ‘No way.’ [Adesanya then hears Michael Bisping’s failure to pronounce Takanori Gomi]. Takanori Gomi. That was racist. Mike, that was racist. Ya damn colonizer! ‘Akihiro Gono or something like that’” Adesanya said.
Valentina Shevchenko failed the attempt to lock Santos with a Gogoplata choke, but ‘Bullet’ continued to rain down punches on Santos. In the end, Shevchenko was announced as the winner via split decision. Several UFC aces believe Santos was robbed off decision.
Adesanya is still undefeated in the middleweight division. Since snatching the title from Robert Whittaker in 2019, he has defended it 4 times. However, he tasted one and only loss when he attempted to capture the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz.
Currently, the 32-year-old New Zealander is focusing on his upcoming bout against top contender Jared Cannonier. They are set to headline UFC 276 event on July 3. Adesanya is looking to have his fifth title defense after successfully retaining it against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 back in February.