‘I got that wrong’ – Israel Adesanya issues public apology to Olympic boxer Imane Khelif

Israel Adesanya is sorry for his comments about Imane Khelif.

The Algerian boxer has been at the centre of a gender identity storm ever since she beat Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds in her opening bout at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

3

Khelif and Chinese Taipei featherweight Lin Yu-ting were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) during last year’s World Championships for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.

But they were controversially cleared to return to competition for Paris 2024 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The case has aroused global interest, with figures such as former United States president Donald Trump and Harry Potter author JK Rowling weighing in on the issue.

Adesanya also had his say after mistakenly believing that Khelif was born a man before transitioning to become a transgender female.

“Men should not be boxing women,” the UFC star tweeted alongside a video of one of her old fights.

“LOL he couldn’t even finish her. Anyway, People > politics.”

Adesanya has since apologised for his words after admitting that he misunderstood the situation and vowing to never comment on female fights again.

“From now on, I’m going to leave women’s fights to women,” he said on The Rock.

“It tried to speak up about it and apparently, I got it wrong, or a lot of people got it wrong with this misinformation.

“I don’t like to get triggered and when something triggers me, I’m a fighter, I saw the news or the articles and I was like, ‘Why they are letting a trans person [fight women]? And then I find out later she wasn’t actually trans.

3

3

“So, to the lady, my bad. I got that wrong.

“To the lady, the boxer, I’m sorry. I didn’t understand what was going on.”

Khelif will step into the ring in an Olympic final which will take place on Friday, August 9, as she looks to complete her quest for a gold medal.

Adesanya is currently deep in camp training for his own gold mission.

The former two-time UFC middleweight champion will look to reclaim his belt when he takes on current titleholder Dircus du Plessis at UFC 305 on August 17.

Adesanya hasn’t fought since being dethroned by Sean Strickland, who dropped and outpointed him to score one of the sport’s biggest-ever upsets last September.

An eagerly anticipated rematch is likely to take place if Adesanya is victorious against du Plessis, but a defeat would leave his MMA career in tatters.