| Israel Adesanya was seemingly involved in a road rage incident, in New Zealand. #MMA #UFC pic.twitter.com/oHAYyZAtnK
— MMA Frenzy (@mma_frenzy) September 5, 2024
Israel Adesanya opened up on a recent heated confrontation involving another individual in New Zealand.
Adesanya was recently filmed getting into a spat with an unidentified person in his home country. The footage shows the former UFC middleweight champ trying to get inside his car while arguing the person who repeatedly flexes his biceps. “The Last Stylebender” appears to spit at the person before the video ends.
While the reason for the altercation is unclear from the video, Adesanya claims the man was trying to coax him into a fight while he tried his best to de-escalate the situation. Adesanya also says he’ll press charges against the man for racially abusing him and threatening violence.
“On Wednesday morning, I was leaving a cafe on K Rd when a passing car slowed, and an occupant began yelling racial abuse and challenging me to fight,” Adesanya told the NZ Herald. “I smiled, waved it off, and continued to my car. The vehicle stopped, and the abuse continued. I again waved it off. The car then parked, and the passenger got out, approached me aggressively, continued his torrent of abuse, and demanded I fight him. I tried to de-escalate the situation repeatedly. As he got closer, I asked bystanders to call the police.
“He then entered my personal space, and I felt threatened. To protect myself, I became more forceful in my language and defensive. Though he paused, the abuse continued, so I left him with some choice words, cautiously moved to my car, and drove away.
“It’s ridiculous that I can’t buy a pie after training without some idiot screaming despicable things and asking for a fight while his mates film from the sidelines. Threatening violence is no joke. It’s very dangerous, and incidents like this must not be glorified online. I hope in the future people say something rather than get their phones out to film.”
The person filming the video also spoke to the NZ Herald on the condition of anonymity. While the individual admitted the cause of the altercation was unclear, the person was not impressed with Adesanya’s behavior.
“I immediately recognized him and from what I witnessed, I was quite disappointed to see him acting in this manner in public, swearing and spitting at the other guy and grabbing his privates,” the person said. “As a public figure, I expected more from someone who represents New Zealand internationally.”
Currently 1-3 in his last four bouts — all title fights — Adesanya is fresh off a submission loss in a failed gold bid against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 last month.
