Gallery Photos: Best of Israel Adesanya view 54 images

Israel Adesanya is not a native New Zealander – he was born in Nigeria. But as a resident of the country for roughly 16 years, he now considers it his home.

Thursday, New Zealand was hit with its deadliest mass shooting in modern history. At least 49 people are dead following a pair of shootings at mosques in Christchurch, the largest city on South Island. The attacks appeared to be motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-immigration stances, according to an online manifesto reportedly written by one of the alleged shooters, who has been arrested.

Adesanya earlier today posted a response to the terror attacks on Instagram:

“Normally these terrorist attacks are known to happen overseas (‘Murica) so you never really pay it no mind cuz ‘NZ isn’t as bad with racism,'” Adesanya posted. “But it happened here in New Zealand and we have to make sure that we stay staunch together. We won’t let them win…🕌🕊 This is our home xoxo.”

https://www.instagram.com/stylebender/p/BvBeGcAnV2j/

Adesanya moved to New Zealand when he was 13. He started kickboxing when he was 18. After living in China for a stretch, he returned to New Zealand when he was 21. The 29-year-old now is preparing for the biggest fight of his UFC career.

Adesanya (16-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) next month fights Kelvin Gastelum (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) for the interim middleweight title at UFC 236, which takes place April 13 in Atlanta.

For more on UFC 236, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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