Israel Adesanya Has Beef With…Chris Pratt?
At UFC 276, Israel Adesanya fought to a decision victory against Jared Cannonier. It was not the most exciting fight and fans were upset that “The Last Stylebender” did not take more risks. Most notably, actor Chris Pratt was not impressed with his performance.
Pratt voiced his displeasure with Adesanya’s performance on the UFC 276 post-fight show.
“I’m going to say this as humbly as I can — I’ve never stepped into the octagon,” Pratt said on the UFC 276 post-fight show. “I don’t know this game. I’m just an actor, but I’m not a fan, man.”
Quote via MMA Fighting
At a minimum, it is nice to see Pratt acknowledge the fact that he has never stepped in an octagon. In Pratt’s opinion, Adesanya’s performance did not live up to his talk or walkout.
“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 [performance],” Pratt said. “I’m like, c’mon, man. You’ve got to cash on that promise of being so badass.”
Quote via MMA Fighting
Adesanya’s walkout was memorable, to say the least. He had a WWE-themed walkout as he came out to the Undertaker’s theme song while wearing the Undertaker’s hat as he held an urn that said “Jared”. In all fairness to Pratt, it is understandable that you would expect to see a finish if a fighter is walking out with an urn.
As you would expect, Adesanya did not take kindly to Pratt’s criticism. He posted an old movie clip on Twitter and posted the caption:
“Good Morning. I’m the man. You’re just some fan.”
Usually, in a scenario like this, the celebrity is out of line but a handful of fighters had similar reactions. In addition, Pratt is a massive MMA fan. In all honesty, he likely knows more about MMA than most people. It is not like Pratt pulled in at the last second to watch the last couple of fights on a pay-per-view. Rather, Pratt was sitting in the front row when Jessica Rose-Clark and Julija Stoliarenko opened the early prelims.
Notice how every other seat is empty. Pratt was the only one that made an effort to watch all fights. Even if you agree with Adesanya and believe Pratt was out of line, you have to respect a celebrity that loves the sport like Pratt.
