Israel Adesanya has controversially spoken out in favour of infamous TikToker Andrew Tate.
The UFC middleweight champion has heaped praise on Tate for pushing men to be "accountable" in a world that is trying to soften them.
After becoming an overnight internet sensation, racking up millions of followers online, Tate was arrested on allegations of rape and human trafficking in December of 2022.
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The former kickboxer was only recently released from custody in Romania, although he remains under house arrest.
Despite being 'cancelled' and 'de-platformed', more and more of his content has started making its way onto social media since leaving prison.
Now Adesanya has had his say on the controversial figure, lauding him for helping revive masculinity by pushing men to be 'accountable'.
"Jordan [Peterson], Andrew [Tate], Dave Goggins, guys like that, they are the ones who are really pushing men to be accountable as men," Adesanya said while appearing on the Honey Badger Hour podcast.
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"You know, the world right now is trying to soften us."
This isn't the first time that 'Style Bender' has spoken about Tate.
Back at UFC 281, ahead of his first fight against Alex Pereira, discussed Tate's 'genius' marketing strategy which catapulted him into fame.
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"Then listening to guys like Andrew Schulz talk about the smart system he did, he paid people to post or make pages about him and flood the internet. If he created that marketing strategy that's genius," Adesanya said.
He added: "If he shows respect, I show respect. I take things at face value. I've never met him in my life so I have no anything with him. Some of his message I can understand people didn't like, but I've heard some of it and I feel he delivers it in a different way. I like Jordan Peterson. He gets the same message across, but without the bravado."
Topics: New Zealand, MMA, UFC, Israel Adesanya, Andrew Tate, Kickboxing
Max Sherry