Adesanya Apologizes To Boxer Khelif For Questioning Her Gender

Israel Adesanya has backtracked on his comments about boxer Imane Khelif. 

Khelif had a mass controversy when she took on Angela Carini during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Khelif won the fight in the first round after landing several shots to her opponent’s head. Carini went back to her corner to get her head guard adjusted. After she came out, Khelif landed further blows, forcing Carini to go back to her corner and quit.

In the aftermath, there were reports that Khalif took a gender test, which she failed at the IBA World Boxing Championships. This meant she was not seen as a woman, as the boxer was not allowed to compete. Lin Yu-ting, a fighter from Taiwan, had the same problem. 

Khelif’s Controversy

However, the International Olympic Committee said that both boxers could compete. It turned out that Khelif had Hyperandrogenism. This is a condition that results in someone having XY chromosomes. Mark Adams, from the IOC, later said that the two boxers were women. 

“I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports,” Adams said

Khelif then continued her journey. She defeated Anna Luca Hamori, as she is guaranteed a minimum bronze medal. Adesanya has now apologized for his comments after claiming she was fighting as a biological man. 

Adesanya Apologizes

“From now on, I will leave women’s fights to women. I tried to speak up about it and apparently, I got it wrong, a lot of people got it wrong, there was misinformation. I spoke up about it because I don’t like to get triggered, but when something triggers me, I’m a fighter and I saw that I’m like, ‘What?’ And I saw the news or the articles speaking on it, ‘Why they letting a trans person [in]?’ Then I find out later, okay, she wasn’t actually trans.

“So, to the lady, my bad. I got that wrong. But for me, still is that — all this grey area, even now, they let some pedo guy compete. Wait, so what? He served his time, cool, but you’re still going to let him compete in the Olympics and that goes against the guidelines of the Olympics’ rules … anyway, to the lady, the boxer, I am sorry. I didn’t understand what was going on,” Adesanya said

This is not the first time that Adesanya’s comments have gotten him into trouble. He made a racial slur when he faced off against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. Du Plessis had just beaten Robert Whittaker. The comments were in response to Du Plessis, who stated that he would be the first African to win the belt.

This was a sly dig at Adesanya, who lives in New Zealand after having left his native country of Nigeria. They will fight at UFC 305 on August 17, giving the two men the chance to back up those words. A win for Adesanya makes him the middleweight champion, the belt which he lost against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. 

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