Misdemeanor Charge Against UFC’s Israel Adesanya Dismissed

MMA: UFC 281 - Adesanya vs Pereira
Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

According to Israel Adesanya’s manager, Tim Simpson, the misdemeanor charge against his client reportedly has been dismissed. Simpson provided an update on his client’s legal situation shortly after Adesanya was arrested on Wednesday at an airport.

“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. He has complied accordingly, with that the matter was dismissed and he is on his way home.”

The item in question was brass knuckles that were allegedly found in the fighter’s luggage when passing through security at JFK Airport in New York City. 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.

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.

TMZ has more HERE.

Tags:

Categorized: