The death of George Floyd has impacted the world and a part of that world is the mixed martial arts community.
Many like UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell have done their part before, during and after various protests across the nation.
UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya recently attended a Black Lives Matter march in Auckland, New Zealand and he delivered the following speech to those in attendance (transcript via Dave Doyle of MMA Junkie):
“I’m pissed off. Wait, hold up. How many of you walk into a store and have to put your hands behind your back just so they don’t think you’re stealing? How many of you walk down the street and have to kind of smile and try to make you see the person who already is scared of you, you make them feel comfortable? I just moved to a spot. I’m at the top. I go in the elevator, three times already I’ve had to have racist, sacred white people jump when they see me, so I smile at them. So now I gotta go to the side and let them walk through just so they don’t get scared when they see me. Why? Because I’m black. Just because I’m black. What did I do? I didn’t have a choice. If I had a choice, I’d still be black. We’ve been talking for so long, we’ve been marching for so long, but it’s not about us now. Shoutout to all the white people, all the people of different races being here, because we need you. We need you to speak up. We need you to say something, because like he said, I’m sick and tired of seeing those face get killed because, guess what, I see myself in them. And it’s heartbreaking. man. I’m pissed off.”
ISOALATION 2020 provided video of Adesanya’s speech on Twitter:
The CHAMP @stylebender addresses the Auckland #BlackLivesMatter march earlier today. GO OFF KING -- pic.twitter.com/8q7Rs3uGK2
— ISOALATION 2020 (@isoakavakimotu) June 1, 2020
