Israel Adesanya won’t be doing any hard time for his recent luggage mix-up in New York.
Today (Tues., Dec. 6, 2022), Adesanya had his case for illegally taking a pair of brass knuckles through the John F. Kennedy airport in Queens, New York last month (Nov. 2022) dismissed after issued an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD), per TMZ. This means the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion won’t find himself in any further trouble should he not break the law and get arrested in the U.S. in the next six months.
“It was very simple and straightforward,” Paradigm Sports general counsel and athlete manager, David Fish, told MMA Fighting. “Both law enforcement and the Queens DA (District Attorney) did the right thing here. He stays out of trouble for six months, and this is dismissed and sealed, which is the right result here. You can’t possess those things, but it was really just an innocent mistake. He rushed out the house he was staying in to get to the airport and basically dumped everything into his suitcase. Unfortunately, [the brass knuckles] were one of the things.”
Adesanya’s charge was that of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, “The Last Stylebender” faced one year of jail time maximum, or three years probation in addition to fines.
Adesanya’s departure from New York state came following his Middleweight title loss in the UFC 281 main event. Facing old kickboxing rival, Alex Pereira, Adesanya suffered his first loss via stoppage in mixed martial arts (MMA). Pereira rallied late in the fifth round to put away his opponent after finding himself down on the judges’ scorecards (watch highlights). An immediate rematch is expected for the pair, but no traction in negotiations has been made as of yet.