Three months after he was filmed during an aggressive “road rage” incident, former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has opened up about how that viral video came about.
While 'The Last Stylebender' was relieved that the viral incident didn't escalate into a physical confrontation, he did admit that the aggressor was lucky to have encountered him on a “good day.”
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Israel Adesanya addresses the 'Road Rage' video and explains the spitting incident
In September, just three weeks after his title loss to Dricus Du Plessis, the popular middleweight was filmed during an alleged 'road rage' incident after an unknown man began taunting him on the side of the road.
Both sides can be heard shouting profanities at each other, with the unknown pedestrian repeatedly getting into Israel Adesanya's face – the video then appeared to show the UFC superstar spitting on the confrontational person.
“I had a great morning workout [session]the vibes were on, just chilling, and then this guy – I think because he saw my car – turned back and said, 'Izzy, one out!'
“In New Zealand it's like you and me, one on one, let's go,” Adesanya explained on the Flagrant Podcast, noting that ignoring the hostility likely enraged the man even more.
“The part that pissed him off was he was at the green light, everyone was walking around him and honking like, 'This damn guy,' and I just grabbed my car door and [opened it]. That pissed him off so he showed up in front of my car and I said, 'Bro, I'm not going to fuck you in the ass for free.'
“He stopped and tried to talk all this nonsense to me and at one point I even tried to defuse it because I was like, 'Bro, I don't know you, I'm fighting for millions. [and] I'm not going to beat you up for free. '…And he says, 'No, I'll fight for free. I'm fighting for the street and my pride' – I thought, 'You're fucking stupid.'
The Last Stylebender, who recently teased that he had just three years left in his MMA career, admitted he was secretly hoping the showdown would escalate, although he is satisfied cooler heads prevailed.
“When I finally spat at him, I was hoping, 'Try something.' At the end you see me spitting at him and he just looks down and I realized, you're not going to do anything. …And I just realized that if I drop this guy now, they're going to put me through the wringer.
“If he spit back then it's happening, but again I'm glad I had a good day. I don't like street fights. I don't like confrontation, but if you bring up the problem, I will solve the problem.”
While Adesanya noted that the unknown aggressor was lucky that they met on a good day, the same cannot be said for some of his City Kickboxing teammates.
“Do that to Dan Hooker – Dan is an animal and Dan would probably behave differently, maybe not knock him out, but put him to sleep and hang him out.”
Israel Adesanya is 4-3 since moving down to 185 pounds and remains the No. 2 ranked middleweight prospect in the world.
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