In his home country of New Zealand, UFC star Israel Adesanya says a man came up to him calling him the N-word and this led to a verbal altercation, which was all caught on video by a bystander, who was a witness to the whole incident.
Videos by FanBuzz
🚨| Israel Adesanya was seemingly involved in a road rage incident, in New Zealand. 😬#MMA #UFC pic.twitter.com/oHAYyZAtnK
— MMA Frenzy (@mma_frenzy) September 5, 2024
As it appeared in the viral video, the man certainly said something that stirred a reaction from the 35-year-old MMA fighter. That is to say, according to Adesanya he wasn't the one who initiated it, as the other guy started off by saying racial slurs upon seeing him.
Per a source that spoke to TMZ, as he was parking his car on a roadway, the guy came out of nowhere and started calling him the N-word.
Although it's hard to understand the dialogue when viewing the clip, Adesanya appeared upset, as he told the man to 'go and drive his beat up piece of s***' as he himself was opening the door to his McLaren. In view of the situation, it appeared to escalate, as he then spit on the ground right beside the man at one point.
Even more, according to the sources, apparently the man had the nerve to challenge Adesanya to a fight, which may have ended rather quickly as the man they call 'The Last Stylebender' has a career record of 24-4-0, including 16 knockouts.
This dude didn’t even throw his Crocs into sport mode and he really thought about throwing down with Adesanya 😂
Delusional is an understatement. pic.twitter.com/ZUetU7zooQ
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) September 5, 2024
One fan commented on X, "Think what you want about the video, but imagine being no taller than 5'11, probably untrained, and doing this to Israel Adesanya."
To note, this was Adesanya's first public appearance since losing the middleweight championship to South African Dricus Du Plessis in Australia.
The sportsmanship between Du Plessis and Adesanya 👏 #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/jz7FJJo3Ws
— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2024
Related: Israel Adesanya Breaks Down In Tears During UFC 305 Trash Talk
