"I’d get more time for marijuana" - Israel Adesanya rallies for protest against "shocking" New Zealand justice system after teenager's controversial sentence

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has never minced his words. The outspoken Nigerian native, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand, is unapologetically himself and speaks his mind without hesitation. He has demonstrated this through his interviews, persona, and lifestyle.

In a recent post, Adesanya condemned the punishment given to teenager Jayden Meyer in North Island, New Zealand. Per the NZ Herald, 18-year-old Meyer has been sentenced to nine months of home detention after being convicted of raping four girls under the age of 16. Per the report, Meyer has been charged with assaulting five victims aged 15 at the time of the attacks while he was 16.

Sharing the article and voicing his support for a planned protest, Israel Adesanya said he might make his way to the rally himself and urged followers to do the same. The peaceful protests will be held on September 8 in Mount Maunganui in Tauranga. The post read:

"Might see y’all there at the Mt Manganui protest. New Zealand Justice system is shocking, I’d get more time for marijuana. The judges handing out these sentences should be deeply ashamed. What if it’s one of your 15 year old girls in your family that got raped your “honor”??"

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Israel Adesanya has condemned the NZ government in the past

In May last year, City Kickboxing prospect Fau Vake was assaulted by four men on Symonds Street in Auckland. After fighting for his life in the hospital, Vake succumbed to his injuries and passed away, leaving behind a young daughter and a grieving family.

Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, and other CKB teammates were outspoken in their anger and disappointment at the unfortunate incident. What added to their disappointment was the underwhelming sentence given to his assailants. Ofa Folau, Siofilisi Paongo, Semisie Pomale, and a fourth man were charged for the fatal offense. Folau pleaded guilty to two representative charges of assault with intent to injure and was sentenced to six months of home detention for each of the two charges.

In an interaction with the NZ Herald, Adesanya slammed his country's lawmakers for rejecting a bill that had proposed a 20-year sentence for coward punching. He said:

"He [Folau] only gets six months of home D (detention) where he gets to be in the comfort of his own home and doesn't get to work and gets to chill. For me, I don't know if he can sleep at night. For me, I just don't understand what kind of a person looks at a law like that and goes 'Hmm, this is a bad law. Why would we put this in place?' I don't understand. I don't get it."

Watch Israel Adesanya speak to NZ Herald below: