Best of 2019: MMA: Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya posts crashed McLaren to social media, sending fans into a frenzy

This summer the Chronicle is bringing you another look at some of the best content of 2019. This story originally ran on October 16, 2019

Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya has sent the rumour mill into overdrive by purchasing a $600,000 sportscar on Monday - and claiming to have left it a mangled wreck just two days later.

The 30-year-old Nigerian-born fighter has been living it up since his dramatic middleweight title win over Robert Whittaker earlier this month.

Adesanya, who is believed to have pocketed almost $800,000 for knocking out Whittaker in the second round of UFC243 in Melbourne, has been flaunting his recently acquired riches on Instagram, treating himself to a new car.

But not just any car.

READ MORE:
• UFC 243: Alex Volkanovski breaks down Adesanya v Whittaker
• Adesanya slammed by Robert Whittaker's team on eve of UFC 243 Melbourne fight
• Adesanya's message to Whittaker moments before UFC243 win
• UFC 243: Israel Adesanya beats Robert Whittaker to win UFC middleweight championship

Adesanya dropped in excess of half-a-million dollars on an orange 2019 McLaren 720s spider - announcing on Instagram that he was "overcompensating" by buying the car.

According to the AA, this model is valued at between $475,000 and $600,000.

It features twin-hinged dihedral doors and goes from 0-60mph in just 2.9 seconds.

On Wednesday Adesanya, known by the moniker "Stylebender", sent his more than 1.6 million followers into a frenzy by posting a picture to his Instagram story of a crashed McLaren of the same model and colour with the caption "F***!! ... Oh well...".

However, it seems as if though Adesanya got the last laugh, with the picture turning out to be of a similar car crashed in the UK.

Earlier Adesanya, who took home a reported US$490,000 (NZ$780,000) from the Whittaker win, could be seen flaunting his money on social media.

He announced shortly after his fight Down Under that he intends to be an active champion taking fights when he can - including a potential future title defence in New Zealand.