Israel Adesanya Claps Back at Chris Pratt After UFC 276 Criticism

He went after the Hollywood star, who criticized his UFC 276 performance.

Israel Adesanya pushed his career record to 23–1 at UFC 276 on Saturday, defeating Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision. While it wasn’t particularly close, Cannonier put a tough fight for the middleweight star, however, and he caught some flack from a Hollywood A-lister after the performance.

Chris Pratt, star of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the Jurassic World franchise, joined the post-fight broadcast and said he wasn’t a fan of how Adesanya handled the fight.

“I’m going to say this as humbly as I can—I’ve never stepped into the octagon, I don’t know this game. I’m just an actor. But I’m not a fan, man,” Pratt said.

“I’m not a fan of coming out like, all that talk, and then just kind of putting on a little bit of a pitter-pat. I’m like, c’mon, man. You’ve got to cash on that promise of being so badass.”

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By Wednesday, Adesanya had clearly seen Pratt’s comments. He tweeted, “Good morning. I’m the man. You’re just some fan,” posting a clip from Pratt’s 2008 movie Wanted, in which the actor is struck in the face with a keyboard by co-star James McAvoy.

Good morning. 😊
I’m the man. You’re just some fan. pic.twitter.com/FNQx9tQHvY

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) July 6, 2022

The clapback comes as Adesanya has grown increasingly short over criticism of his fights. On Saturday night, he took a shot at critics and members of the media.

“You guys have a job to do and I’m not criticizing you guys in particular, I kind of am, but remember I can do your job,” Adesanya said during his post-fight press conference. “You can never do my job. Just remember that. I could do your job, trust me.

“I appreciate you guys for what you do. But, not just for me but for other fighters, be mindful with your words. Be mindful with the way you clickbait. That s— is weak.”

Saturday’s fight was the fourth straight bout of Adesanya’s to end in a decision. He beat Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori in the same manner at UFC 271 and UFC 263, respectively, and suffered his only career loss by a decision to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 back in March 2021, at the light heavyweight level

Adesanya expects his next fight to come against Alex Pereira, who moved to 6–1 with a knockout victory against Sean Strickland on Saturday. The two have never faced off in the Octagon, but Pereira is 2–0 against Adesanya with one knockout in a pair of kickboxing matches in 2016 and ’17.

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