Izzy Nominated For SAG Award

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is gearing up for the biggest fight of his life, courtesy of the UFC 281 pay-per-view (PPV) main event this Sat. night (Nov. 12, 2022) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, but it seems fans are just as interested in the revival of “Tittygate” as they are with his preparations for Brazilian bruiser Alex Pereira.

Adesanya, now 33, raised a few eyebrows during his UFC 253 headliner against Paulo Costa back in Sept. 2020, thanks to enlarged breast tissue that had combat sports fans — and rival fighters — speculating on his condition. “The Last Stylebender” was left “baffled” by the growth and got little-to-no help from equally puzzled physicians.

Tristar coach Firas Zahabi, perhaps best known for his work with former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, told a fan during his UFC 281 video preview that recent photos of Adesanya’s saggy right pec could be attributed to “one group” that typically experiences that condition, but stopped short of making steroid accusations.

“I heard one doctor give an analysis,” Zahabi said (transcribed by Milan Ordoñez). “He’s a doctor that does a lot of famous videos, and [he said] ‘Well, it could be from a punch, (he) was punched in the chest and he got some tissue damage. I’ve been punched in the chest, I’ve seen countless boxing rounds (with) MMA gloves, big gloves. I’ve seen countless fights, I’ve never seen somebody get punched in the chest and then have gyno. I’ve never seen it. I’ve never seen a guy walk in the ring, walk out with an inflamed breast. Or his next fight, his breast is inflamed because he got punched. Never! So in my mind, there’s only one reason for this. There’s only one group that has this problem. There’s only one group. I just don’t get it. What other possibility could there be? For me, I have no explanation. I have no idea.”

Here’s a recent photo of Adesanya ahead of UFC 281:

And a creepy UFC fan with the closeup:

Adesanya (23-1) previously attributed his saggy chest to certain lifestyle choices, which include “smoking weed,” and subsequently offered a $3 million reward to anyone who can provide concrete evidence “The Last Stylebender” was using steroids. It should also be noted that Adesanya has never failed a drug test during his UFC career.

That said, accidents happen.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 281 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 281: “Adesanya vs. Pereira” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 281 fight card and PPV line up click here.