Israel Adesanya comes out in support of safety for women in MMA in light of inclusion of non-binary participants

Israel Adesanya recently weighed in on the controversy surrounding Muay Thai and kickboxing coach Richie Hardcore speaking at UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand on International Women's Day. The former middleweight champion came out in support of a statement put out by the coach, advocating for keeping women's MMA as safe as possible.

Hardcore was pulled from speaking at the UN event after he was accused of being transphobic and supporting anti-trans rhetoric. However, the educator and public speaker clarified his stance in a Twitter post, stating that the allegations were false.

Hardcore also reiterated his statement about women's sports being fair and safe in relation to the participation of transgender participants in sports like boxing or kickboxing. Insisting that inclusion in sports, regardless of gender or identity, is essential, he stated that it shouldn't negatively affect women's safety in combat sports.

Israel Adesanya appeared to agree with Richie Hardcore's statement and tweeted a message supporting the kickboxing coach. 'The Last Stylebender' wrote:

"The snake will eventually eat its own tail. Richie speaking fax when it comes to fighting as a sport and making it safe for women to partake and have fun too. Don’t get me started y’all…"

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Jon Jones predicts Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2

Jon Jones doesn't see Israel Adesanya taking back the middleweight title from Alex Pereira in their rematch. The legendary fighter, who recently became the UFC heavyweight champion, is of the opinion that 'Poaton' will beat 'The Last Stylebender' once again at UFC 287.

Pereira shocked the combat sports community at UFC 281 when he managed to secure a fifth-round TKO victory over the long-reigning champion of the division.

Pereira was seemingly en-route to a decision loss heading into the final round of his bout against Adesanya. However, the Brazilian found Adesanya against the cage and unleashed a barrage of vicious blows, prompting the referee to halt the action as the Nigerian-born Kiwi was clearly compromised.

In a pre-fight UFC 285 media day interview, Jon Jones stated that he doesn't expect a different result in the rematch:

"I believe Pereira's going to win again. There's some athletes that just have other athlete's number. He works hard and I'm rooting for him. I believe he's going to do it again."

Watch the full video below:

The two former kickboxing rivals have been booked for a rematch at UFC 287 on April 8 at the Miami-Dade Arena. This will be the duo's second MMA meeting after their three previous kickboxing fights went Pereira's way.