Israel Adesanya recounted a road rage incident where he was provoked with racially charged comments and challenged to a fight, ultimately de-escalating the situation by spitting at the aggressor and filing a police complaint.
Israel Adesanya recently shared more about a road rage incident that nearly turned physical earlier this year. Back in September, the former UFC middleweight champion was involved in an altercation with another driver. According to Adesanya, the other person made racially charged comments and challenged him to a fight. Fortunately, things didn’t escalate beyond Adesanya spitting on the individual, after which he filed a police report.
The formal complaint seems to have led nowhere, but Adesanya opened up more about it on the FLAGRANT podcast this week. “Vibes was on, just chilling,” he recalled. Apparently, the other guy noticed Adesanya’s car, doubled back, and called him out for a one-on-one fight. In New Zealand slang, "one outs" means a one-on-one brawl. Adesanya found it amusing and kept walking.
The situation escalated when the man blocked traffic at a green light, causing chaos. Horns blared as cars maneuvered around him. Adesanya said he simply lifted his car door, which further angered the guy. The man then confronted Adesanya directly. “Bro, I’m not going to whoop your ass for free,” Adesanya told him.
Despite attempts to defuse the tension, the provocateur insisted he fought for pride and the streets. Adesanya thought this was ridiculous. Near the end of their exchange, Adesanya admitted he hoped for an excuse to fight back. “In the end, when I spat at him I was hoping, ‘Try something,’” he confessed.
Adesanya realized retaliating could lead to trouble for him. If the other man had spat back, it might have been different. But Adesanya prefers avoiding street fights unless provoked. He noted that his restraint spared the man from further consequences.
Reflecting on how others might react differently, Adesanya mentioned teammate Dan Hooker as someone who might not have shown such restraint. "Dan’s a beast," he said, suggesting Hooker would handle it more aggressively.
Recently, Adesanya competed at UFC 305 in August but lost to Dricus du Plessis in their middleweight title bout.