Anderson Silva (dir.) was defeated by Israel Adesanya (left) at UFC 234. Photo: Reproduction/ X/@ufcbrasil
One of the biggest names in the history of MMA, Anderson Silva broke the silence on provocation what he did to the Nigerian Israel Adesanyaafter he lost the middleweight belt to Sean Stricklandat the UFC 293. In an interview with the “Flow Podcast” channel, the Brazilian said it was a joke and that he had no intention of offending his rival, who defeated him in 2019.
The Spider explained that he was in a moment of relaxation with his son, Kalyl Silva, when he decided to make a post on Instagram, using a narration from the film “Tropa de Elite” and stating that Adesanya should not compare himself to him.
“I made a joke. Adesanya had fought and lost the fight. Then, you know when your head goes too far, the little devils come saying ‘give me a little tease’? Then Kalyl said: ‘Dad, don’t do that. It is not necessary. It’s unnecessary’. Then I replied: ‘I’m a human being and I want to do it; I am going to do’. I started to remember the stops, Captain Nascimento, I put them there and that was it. But it wasn’t to Israel, man. It was, at that moment, for the people who were always making comparisons. He never compared himself. So it wasn’t for the guy,” he said. Anderson Silva.
Anderson Silva x Israel Adesanya: the controversy
The provocation of Anderson Silva It generated repercussions on social media, but soon after he changed the caption of the post, adding skull and hawk emojis, and adding a video of highlights from his career with the phrase “They will never be, they will never be”.
Anderson Silva provoke Israel Adesanya. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @spiderandersonsilva
Anderson Silva It is Israel Adesanya they faced each other in February 2019, at UFC 234, in a fight that was considered a “passing of the baton” between the two middleweight stars. The Nigerian won by unanimous decision from the judges, in a balanced and exciting fight.
Since then, Adesanya won the division’s belt and defended it five times, until losing to Strickland in September of this year. Anderson left the UFC in 2020, after a series of defeats, and switched to boxing.
