September 25, (THEWILL) – Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder, Israel Adesanya, pleaded guilty to drunk-driving charges in New Zealand, on Monday morning.
The incident occurred on August 19, when Adesanya was stopped at a random breath testing station in Auckland, whilst returning home from dinner with friends. He recorded a blood alcohol level of 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood according to his team, which exceeds the legal limit of 50 milligrams.
“I want to apologise to the community, my family and my team for the poor judgement I showed by getting behind the wheel after drinking at dinner,” Adesanya said in a statement. “I’m disappointed in my decision to drive. It was wrong. As a public figure I know people look up to me and I want them to know that I don’t condone this behaviour”, he added.
Adesanya was summoned to appear in court on Monday, for a hearing. He will return for sentencing on January 10, his team confirmed. The maximum penalty for drunk driving in New Zealand is 3 months imprisonment or a NZ$2,680 fine.
THEWILL recalls that the 34-year-old lost the UFC middleweight championship in a unanimous points defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia, on 10 September. He is considered one of the greatest 185-pound fighters in mixed martial arts history, having held the UFC middleweight title twice.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
