Israel Adesanya looks to press charges after man racially attacked the UFC athlete
Israel Adesanya was recently shown in a road rage incident in which he got into a verbal interaction with an unidentified man. The UFC athlete Adesanya looks to press charges on the assailant.
Israel Adesanya Road Rage Incident
The UFC fighter Israel Adesanya was recently filmed in a cell phone video that went viral in which he and another man were engaged in an argument.
Speaking to the NZ Herald, Israel Adesanya explained:
“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.
“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.”
Professional fighter Adesanya seemed to have been looking to de-escalate the situation in which this person was calling him racially abusive names. The UFC fighter hopes that the Auckland, New Zealand police will press charges against the unidentified man.