Adesanya Loses BMW Sponsorship Over Rape Comment

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Israel Adesanya continues to feel the aftermath of a recent rape comment.

Adesanya, who landed in hot water earlier this week for insensitive trash talk directed at fellow middleweight Kevin Holland, is currently picking up the pieces from his most egregious outburst to date. Remember, “Last Stylebender” made some inappropriate comments about 9/11 just one year ago that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

While Adesanya has done his best to apologize for his recent language things continue to unravel. In addition to being put on blast by New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Grant Robertson, the UFC middleweight champion is now beginning to lose sponsors.

On Friday, BMW issued a statement on Adesanya’s recent comments and confirmed it will be dropping him as its brand ambassador in New Zealand.

“Due to the comments made by an athlete online, we have reviewed our pending association with said athlete and we have decided not to push forward with a specific ambassador for the brand at this time in New Zealand,” the statement from BMW read (via Stuff).

Adesanya, 31, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. “Last Stylebender” had moved up to light heavyweight to try to claim his second UFC title but Blachowicz was too much to handle (highlights HERE). The defeat was the first of Adesanya’s professional MMA career, but not the only loss he suffered this month.