After being stripped of his UFC middleweight title, former champion Israel Adesanya faced another tough day after he was arrested at the JFK airport in New York by police authorities.
The 33-year old fighter was at the airport to fly back home on Wednesday when he was immediately flagged down by the Port Authority Police Department at around 1:57 p.m for possession of brass knuckles.
Metal knuckles are illegal and is a class A misdemeanor in the state of New York. According to a report on ESPN, a spokesperson for the Port Authority Police Department confirmed the arrest of Adesanya.
The former middleweight champion was released shortly after it was explained that the metal knuckles was a gift given by a fan which the fighter put in his luggage.
“When flagged at the airport, Israel quickly disposed of the item, and co-operated with authorities,’ Adesanya’s manager Tim Simpson said in a statement. “He has complied accordingly. With that, the matter was dismissed, and he is on his way home,” it added.
Adesanya faced his longtime kickboxing-rival, Alex Pereira in the UFC 281 title match where the former was defeated via TKO in fifth round of the match. It was the second time Adesanya was knocked out by Pereira in a professional match.
