UFC Champion Israel Adesanya Protests Killing of George Floyd

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya protested the killing of George Floyd on Monday as he joined a Black Lives Matter rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Auckland, New Zealand. 

Adesanya addressed the crowd at the rally, noting he is "pissed off," about racism and police brutality in America.

"How many of you walk into a store and have to put your hands behind your back just so they don’t think you're stealing?" Adesanya said. "How many of you walk down the street and have to kind of smile and try to make you see the person who already is scared of you, you make them feel comfortable?"

Adesanya is the latest athlete to protest the killing of Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd was stopped by police officer Derek Chauvin, who kept his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes. Floyd can be seen on video repeatedly saying "I can't breathe," before his death. 

Adesanya, 30, claimed the middleweight title at UFC 245 in October 2019. He retained his title in a win over Yoel Romero in March 2020.