Case Against UFC’s Israel Adesanya Officially Dismissed

LOJSports |

Dec 7, 2022

Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

A case against UFC star Israel Adesanya will be dismissed so long as he stays out of trouble in the near future.

Adesanya was arrested on November 16th after he allegedly went through security at JFK airport in New York with brass knuckles. He was issued a desk appearance ticket and ordered to show up in court. TMZ was first to report the incident.

The fighter was caught with the brass knuckles at the airport just a few days after he fought and lost to Alex Pereira.

Carrying brass knuckles is a class A misdemeanor in New York, and carries a maximum sentence of one-year jail time if tried and convicted. The charge also includes fines. The arrest was made by the Port Authority Police Department.

However, Tuesday the UFC fighter was issued an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. The Queens District Attorney’s Office says that means he will not be facing any criminal charges if he stays out of trouble for the next six months.

Tim Simpson, Adesanya’s manager told TMZ that “Israel was handed a gift by a fan, which he put in his luggage. When flagged at the airport, Israel quickly disposed of the item, and cooperated with authorities.”

Back in November, League of Justice reported that Adesanya’s manager claimed the case would be dismissed.

Adesanya is a former UFC Middleweight Champion, who recently lost his title to bitter rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281. The Nigerian native moved to New Zealand at the age of 21. Adesanya began his UFC career in December 2017 by making his debut against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221, which he won in the 2nd round via TKO. Since then, Adesanya put together a 5-fight-win streak and even defeated Anderson Silver. Beating Silver led to him earning a match against Kelvin Gastelum for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 236.

Adesanya went on to put together a 23-1 win/loss record before losing his title to Pereira.