This past weekend, Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight belt to Alex Pereira at UFC 281. It was a close match that Adesanya ultimately dropped in the final round by TKO. For Adesanya, this was the worst possible result, however, he is vowing to come back better than ever.
Israel Adesanya Arrested
Unfortunately, Adesanya's offseason has gotten off to a bit of a rough start. According to TMZ, Adesanya has been arrested at JFK airport in New York City. At the time of writing this, he is still in custody with the Port Authority Police Department.
As the report indicates, Adesanya was found with brass knuckles. The UFC superstar was attempting to bring them through security. In New York, brass knucks are very illegal. Consequently, being caught with them can lead to a criminal possession of a weapon charge.
Additionally, it is illegal to go through TSA with brass knuckles on you, whether it be in your carry-on bag or on your person. This means more charges could potentially be on the way. Regardless, this is an unfortunate situation as it seems to be more of an oversight on Adesanya's part, than anything else.
As TMZ reported, the penalty for these charges is one year in prison and a fine. At this point, it is simply too early to tell what may happen here. In the coming hours, it is likely that Adesanya will be freed from custody. Subsequently, authorities will take over via the necessary avenues.
This is till a developing story, so stay tuned to HNHH for all of the latest news and updates.
UPDATE: Adesanya's manager Tim Simpson has told TMZ that the brass knuckles were in a package given to him by a fan as a gift.
[Via]