Adesanya and Buckley are in a war of words over the Nigerian confession that he hates Usman's opponent
The former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya crossed paths with many rivals during his title reigns, from Alex Pereira to Sean Strickland to current champ Dricus du Plessis.
Of course, that’s only a fraction of the fighters with whom Adesanya has traded barbs.
Adesanya didn’t consider himself much of a hater until he turned on the TV on Saturday to watch his friend Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC Atlanta.
Adesanya had no love for Usman’s comeback opponent, Joaquin Buckley, a former middleweight who talked an even bigger game after becoming a welterweight contender.
Buckley’s plan to knock out Usman ultimately backfired on fight night as the former pound-for-pound king put on a vintage performance across five rounds, controlling Buckley with his takedowns to win a unanimous decision.
Buckley talked to Usman mid-fight from the bottom position and later said Usman was more concerned with taking him down than he was hurting him.
While supporting his longtime friend Usman, Adesanya expressed his dislike for ‘New Mansa’.
“I hate this n——, bro,” Adesanya said of Buckley on his YouTube channel.
“I don’t even use the word hate lightly, but I hate this n—-, bro.
“Something about him just f—— annoys me.
“Like, literally, I’m just trying to chill talk, [then Buckley is] like, hey man, we gotta get this going… Like he’s rapping to me every single time.
“He’s just so f—— annoying. At one point, I just walked away as he was talking.”
“Maybe I’m just a hater, bro… I’m a hater, bro. I understand it now. I get it. I understand it now. I’ll be sipping that ‘haterade’, man.
“Retire!” Adesanya said after Buckley was defeated by Usman.
“I’m finally a hater. I understand it now,” Adesanya laughed.
Joaquin Buckley said Israel Adesanya’s career was ‘never the same’ after revealing how to beat him
The second-greatest middleweight of all time, Adesanya, finds himself on a losing skid in 2025.
Responding to Adesanya, Buckley says Israel Adesanya should hate on Dricus du Plessis, not him, “Hate the farmer that took yo belt n—- not me,” Buckley wrote on ‘X ' on Monday.
“Stand on business bout Africa or China or wherever the f— you from b—-.”
Buckley referred to du Plessis as a ‘boer’, which is related to the Dutch people who settled in South Africa in the 1600s.
A war of words began between du Plessis and Adesanya after du Plessis claimed he’d be an African champion in 2023.
Nearly four years since his last win and two years since his last fight, Usman was counted out by many against the younger contender, Buckley.
Top contender Sean Brady believed Buckley to be ‘too young’ and ‘too physical’ for Usman, picking him to win by unanimous decision.
A former foe of Usman and Brady, ranked UFC Welterweight Gilbert Burns, picked Usman over Buckley on Saturday.
Burns expected Usman to pour on the pressure and mix in his wrestling like his teammate Logan Storley did in 2018, and Usman did just that.
Buckley was taken down by Usman four times in their fight and controlled for nearly 13 minutes of their 25-minute fight.
