MMA World Reacts To Israel Adesanya's Drunk Driving Charge

Figures from the MMA world chime in on Adesanya's guilty plea.

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has plead guilty to a drunk driving charge, and the MMA world is reacting.

The New Zealand Herald first broke the news of Adesanya's plea stemming from an incident on August 19 in Auckland. That was just three weeks before "The Last Stylebender" lost the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland. Adesanya was over the legal limit for alcohol consumption while driving in New Zealand. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 10, 2024.

Adesanya issued a statement to The New Zealand Herald. He apologized for his actions and made it clear to his fans that he believes this was a lapse in judgement. Adesanya said he is disappointed with his decision to drive that evening.

(via Abigail Dougherty)

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MMA Personalities Weigh In On Israel Adesanya Charge

There have been some well-known MMA personalities who have chimed in on "Izzy's" guilty plea for drunk driving. One of them is UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping. "The Count" took to his YouTube channel to point out that the level of alcohol Adesanya had in his body does not necessarily indicate that he wasn't sober while driving.

"It's worth pointing out, 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, you're allowed to drive," Bisping said. "What does that mean? That means you're sober as a judge, otherwise he wouldn't allow you to drive a car. He wasn't even double that, he was 87 over, and I am not making excuses for him. It's awful. Drink driving is a terrible thing and lots of innocent people lose their lives every single day, but it's worth just putting this into perspective. It's 87 milligrams as opposed to 50, so he was probably still sober, but he just had alcohol in his system."

MMA comedian Adam Hunter was certainly in a joking mood when he heard the news. He hurled a zinger at Israel Adesanya's UFC 293 performance against Strickland.

Israel Adesanya pleaded guilty to a DUI this morning in Court. The Judge was worried he was gonna no-show like he did his last fight.

— MMA Roasted (@MMARoasted) September 24, 2023

"Israel Adesanya pleaded guilty to a DUI this morning in Court," Hunter wrote. "The Judge was worried he was gonna no-show like he did his last fight."

Renowned MMA journalist James Lynch also reacted to the news on his YouTube channel.

"First and foremost, no one should drink and drive," Lynch said. "In this day and age, there's Ubers, there's all types of stuff. He's got money. There's no reason why he should've been driving that night. So, right off the bat just an absolute bonehead move on Adesanya's part."

Lynch went on to say that this also indicates that "Izzy" didn't take Sean Strickland seriously ahead of their middleweight title fight. With that said, Lynch believes that Strickland would've still won the fight even if Adesanya was more focused on the bout.

If you use any quotes from this article, please leave an H/T to MMAKnockout.com for the transcription.

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