Israel Adesanya, the former UFC middle weight champion has recently pleaded guilty in court on account of drunk driving. The incident for which The Last Stylebender has pleaded guilty dates back to three weeks before his last UFC bout against Sean Strickland.
The former UFC middleweight champion pled guilty to a “drink driving” charge of operating a vehicle in Auckland on August 19 with a higher percentage of alcohol in his blood than the legal limit of New Zealand and Izzy might be in a lot of trouble.
Israel Adesanya pleads guilty to drunk driving
Israel Adesanya pleaded guilty to drink driving charge that reportedly occurred some time before his last UFC bout which was a nightmare for the Nigerian, The New Zealand Herald court revealed that the former UFC middle weight champion was found with 87 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.
The legal limit of alcohol in blood is 50 milligrams in 100 milliliters of blood and Adesanya had almost double the legal limit, so things aren’t looking great for Izzy.
Adesanya issued a statement to The New Zealand Herald in which he apologized to the community, his team and his family for getting behind the wheel intoxicated. Izzy further revealed that he was pulled over by police and gave a blood test and was found drunk above the legal parameters.
“I am disappointed with my decision to drive. It was wrong”. He added, “I know that people might follow me and I want them to know I do not think this behavior is acceptable.”
Speculations are that the maximum punishment for the former UFC champ is either 3 months of jail or a fine of 4500 dollars which roughly translates to 2800 US dollars.
It’s been a low time for the former champion, getting stripped off his UFC middle weight belt and then being charged for drunk driving and seemingly it doesn’t end there.
Adesanya’s past legal troubles
This isn’t the first time Israel Adesanya has been involved in a legal fight, be it with the state or an individual or the authorities. Adesanya has had legal troubles way before this.
Israel Adesanya was arrested by JFK airport police on his way to New Zealand once. As the former UFC champion was going through the security, a brass knuckle duster was scanned in Adesanya’s luggage.
Objects like knuckle dusters are prohibited in the states and may result in over a year of jail plus fines which won’t look pretty on Adesanya considering he pleaded guilty for drunk driving as well.
Israel Adesanya cooperated fully with the authorities when cautioned about the weapon in his luggage. He informed the police that the weapon was a gift from a fan and had just loaded it into his luggage. After a brief arrest, his manager Tim Simpson said that Israel was allowed to go, and the case was dismissed. It is, however, too early to determine if legal problems are still pending against Israel.
To make things even worse for Izzy, he is being sued for half of his earnings by his former girlfriend Charlotte Powdrell. This news came according to the current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, who spoke about it on a recent episode of his podcast.
O’Malley claimed that Powdrell is looking to take half of the money Adesanya has made, despite never having been married or having kids together. Only due to her time spent taking care of him and supporting him through his rise to fame, his former girlfriend now demands half his fortune in compensation.
This was further confirmed when Israel Adesanya unleashed a vicious series of posts about his ex-girlfriend on social media. Several posts were made on his Instagram Stories, including one in which he shares a screenshot of an incriminating message for Powdrell.
This is obviously an unfortunate situation for anyone to be in, but Israel Adesanya seems to be confident that nothing serious will come of the legal action. Time will tell how this unfolds.
