Nigeria-born, New Zealand-based UFC champion, Israel Adesanya, has changed his tone amid criticism of his threat to “rape” an opponent while talking trash.

The UFC middleweight champion issued a statement that his choice of words “crossed the line” and vowed to “be more selective with words under pressure.”

Adesanya drew fire for his word choice while verbally sparring online with middleweight contender Kevin Holland. Holland called Adesanya a “true loser” after Adesanya’s UFC 259 loss to Jan Blachowicz in a March 6 light heavyweight title bout.

Adesanya, who fights out of New Zealand, responded to Holland’s barb in a since-expired Instagram story declaring “Bro, I’ll f***ing rape you.” As criticism of his comment gained traction in New Zealand and on social media, Adesanya appeared to dismiss the backlash as “clickbait.”

That was before New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson stepped in. Robertson, who is also the nation’s sports minister, condemned Adesanya’s rape comment in an interview with Radio New Zealand on Thursday.
Culled from Yahoosports