“It’s Not Part of the NZ Culture…”: Israel Adesanya Pleading Guilty for DUI in New Zealand Leaves the Fans in Splits

Israel Adesanya has been bending more than just his styles. In a recent development, the star was seen leaving Auckland District Court after an unfortunate incident. The fighter has recently faced a devastating and unexpected loss at the hands of Sean Strickland. ‘Izzy’ was deeply upset after he lost the belt to his opponent.

Fans on Reddit had a number of things to say but what’s the truth? Did ‘Izzy’ lose because he wasn’t taking things seriously? Or is it all just misfortune come his way? Theories can be plenty but the truth can only be singular. Here’s what happened after ‘Izzy’ decided to bend his steering wheel instead.

Israel Adesanya faces trouble after drunk driving case

The star was in New Zealand when the incident transpired. He was driving under the influence of alcohol and was apprehended back in August before the Sean Strickland fight. His blood alcohol level was about 87 mg per 100 mg which is way higher than the permitted limit of 50mg per 100 mg. Fans on Reddit pretty much lost their minds and had some interesting conversations around the idea.

“Doing this 3 weeks before a fight is concerning.”

“Yup. If it was after the fight I would’ve laughed, though during it before a title fight? I don’t want it to give credence to the idea that Adesanya overlooked Strickland.”

“Hoping nobody got hurt and this is a one time thing”

While some fans were concerned about Adesanya’s mental state before the fight, others were just there for the trolling.

Hmmm…
byu/BaileyClearyNZ inufc

“Funny world we live in. In the start of 2023, I thought the year would end with Izzy being champ and Sean in jail. (I know Sean is a sober all-around decent guy)”

“Damn he mastered every martial art except drunk driving jitsu”

Some of his diehard fans though, wanted to defend ‘Izzy’ at all costs.

“He blew 7mls over the legal limit. That is barely a hair over the mark. This article is super overblown, it’s clearly just a glass of wine too full at the dinner table. This is not a display of unhinged behaviour or spiralling out. Peeps need to chill.”

“To be fair, everyone has a drink driving charge in NZ. It’s not part of the NZ culture if you don’t.”

Clearly, this is just one of Adesanya’s many phases and loyal fans hope this doesn’t occur again. The case was registered in August and now, Adesanya has pleaded guilty facing either a hefty fine or a few months of jail-time. It’s obvious which one of the two the superstar will go with.

Who will Adesanya face next?

Now that he’s done facing charges and Sean Strickland, what’s next in line for the fighter? So far, he has confirmed nothing. The only time he spoke about really fighting in the future was when he said he wanted to have fun now. Does this mean he’ll shift weight divisions or just take up an interesting fight for the fans to witness? Adesanya is no stranger to instant rematches, but will he get one now?

Also Read: Sean Strickland Loss, Rematch Chances, Message to Fans: Israel Adesanya Lays Bare His Honest Thoughts After UFC 293 in His ‘FREESTYLEBENDER’ Podcast

Rumors about him having a rematch are afloat as always and Dana White has shown interest in the idea of it but will it really be so? Currently, there are no callouts to the champion Strickland but once there are, who will they be from? Sean Strickland is a strong fighter who’ll be defending his belt the first time as soon as he accepts a call out. It’s just a matter of time.

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