Hollywood actor, Chris Pratt, has tendered an apology to UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya following criticism of his performance during last weekend’s title defence against Jared Cannonier.
Punch Metro reported that “The Last Stylebender” retained his middleweight belt, his fifth title defence, and many viewed the bout as a dull and boring affair.
Adesanya left no doubt in the judges’ minds, winning via unanimous decision, but Pratt was unimpressed with the champion’s performance. Before the fight, The Last Stylebender had boasted of his intentions to “show off and show out.”
The “Guardians of the Galaxy” star who attended UFC 276 fight on July 2nd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada didn’t feel Adesanya accomplished that, saying post-fight, “I’m gonna say this as humbly as I can, as a guy who never stepped in the Octagon. I don’t know this game, I’m just an actor. But I’m not a fan, man. 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-patter.
“I’m like, ‘Come on, man! Cash on that!’ You’ve got to cash that promise of being so bad**.”
The Last Stylebender responded to Pratt on Wednesday morning by taking to Twitter and posting a clip from the movie “Wanted” writing: “Good morning. I’m the man. You’re just some fan.”
In the clip, Pratt plays a character named Barry who is smashed in the face with a keyboard by another character, Wesley. Before Barry is hit with the keyboard, he asks Wesley, ‘Who’s the man?’
Striking Barry, Wesley answers “I’m the man.”
The tweet prompted a reply from Pratt, who apologized to the No. 3-ranked pound-for-pound fighter.
“You’re right,” Pratt tweeted. “I’m sorry brother. It bugs me when people criticize my work- having never risked anything. It makes me a hypocrite to do exactly that to you. My bad. Keep on keeping on, champ.”
Israel Adesanya called out his next opponent, Alex Pereira, after defeating Cannonier at UFC 276.
In 2016, Pereira ended Adesanya’s 12-fight winning streak with a unanimous decision victory.
In the rematch, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was defeated again and later required oxygen to regain consciousness.
