UFC's Israel Adesanya Arrested, Accused of Possessing Brass Knuckles at JFK Airport | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
UFC star Israel Adesanya was reportedly arrested at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport after attempting to go through security with metal knuckles, according to TMZ Sports.
According to that report, "Brass knuckles are illegal (class A misdemeanor) in the state of New York. It's also illegal to carry them on your person or in your carry-on bag."
Adesanya would have been facing up to a year in jail and additional fines had he been formally charged and convicted. However, his manager Tim Simpson said in a statement that the UFC fighter was given a gift by a fan, disposed of it when flagged at the airport and the matter was promptly resolved:
Ariel Helwani @arielhelwaniStatement from <a href="">@stylebender</a>’s manager Tim Simpson on Adesanya’s incident at JFK this afternoon: <a href="">
The 33-year-old is one of the UFC's biggest stars, with a 23-2 record in his professional MMA career and five successful defenses of his middleweight title before Alex Pereira defeated him at UFC 281 on Saturday by a fifth-round knockout.
Adesanya was given a 60-day mandatory rest period and an indefinite medical suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission after the loss. A rematch against Pereira once he's medically cleared to return seems like a distinct possibility.
"Me, personally, I think Izzy deserves a rematch," former MMA fighter Michael Bisping said on his YouTube channel (h/t Kristen King of Bloody Elbow). "I think he's been such a great champion. He's been entertaining. He's been charismatic. He's been a workhorse for the UFC. They said it on the commentary there, ever since Israel won the belt, he has competed in 20 percent of the UFC's title fights. I mean, that is phenomenal. What a schedule. What a workload."
Adesanya had also previously dipped his toes into the light heavyweight division, losing a title fight to Jan Błachowicz at UFC 249 in March 2021.
