Israel Adesanya Will ‘Never’ Fight In New Zealand Ever Again

Israel Adesanya won’t be fighting in his home country anymore.

Adesanya, the current UFC middleweight champion, wanted his next title defense to be in Auckland, New Zealand, but he’s become frustrated as the country tightens on restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. New Zealand has shutdown gyms like City Kickboxing and made it difficult for Dan Hooker to get his visa ahead of UFC 266.

“You will never see me fight in New Zealand ever again,” Adesanya said in a video he posted on YouTube. “All that money, they can get it from somewhere else. Their rugbys, their crickets, and all the others they’re giving exemptions to, but you will never ever see me fight on these shores.”

“That was one of my dreams, to headline a stadium in my backyard,” he added.

“That dream’s dead in the water. That’s just the way I feel right now… F— these c—, I don’t respect them for what they are doing to my boy.”

Adesanya said cops kept going to the gym trying to shut them down. But he’s aggravated that other sports teams have gotten exemptions so they can train, but not MMA fighters.

Adesanya (21-1) last fought in June where he defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision in a rematch. It’s unclear when “The Last Stylebender” will return to the octagon and, now, where he’ll return.