Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       Supported by

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       Israel Adesanya, M.M.A. Star, Narrowly Avoids Drunk-Driving Conviction

       Within hours, the former middleweight mixed martial arts champion risked more legal trouble by posting provocative content on social media.

       Share full article

       Read in app

       Israel Adesanya during an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Sydney, Australia, last year. Credit...Mark Evans/Getty Images

       By Natasha Frost

       Jan. 11, 2024, 6:34 a.m. ET

       Sign up for Your Places: Extreme Weather. Get notified about extreme weather before it happens with custom alerts for places in the U.S. you choose. Get it sent to your inbox.

       Just weeks after being charged with driving under the influence in Auckland, New Zealand, last year, Israel Adesanya, a former two-time middleweight mixed martial arts champion, sought to project humility and remorse.

       He immediately pleaded guilty, issued a public apology and declined to seek “name suppression,” where the news media is barred from publishing a defendant’s name, a common practice in New Zealand for the famous or moderately well known facing legal trouble.

       These factors, along with what Mr. Adesanya described as the likely and disproportionate negative effects of a criminal conviction on his high-profile career, prompted a judge on Wednesday to dismiss the charges.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.

       Natasha Frost writes The Times’s weekday newsletter The Europe Morning Briefing and reports on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. She is based in Melbourne, Australia. More about Natasha Frost

       Share full article

       Read in app

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT