BREAKING: Israel Adesanya gets arrested at JFK airport for possession of brass knuckles

Israel Adesanya was arrested at JFK (John F. Kennedy) Airport in New York at around 1:57 pm on Wednesday, November 16th, 2022. As reported by TMZ, Adesanya was allegedly carrying brass/metal knuckles.

'The Last Stylebender' was taken into custody by security personnel for the criminal possession of a weapon.

In the U.S. state of New York, the possession of brass knuckles is illegal, a class A misdemeanor. Carrying a weapon on your person or in your bag is regarded as illegal in New York City (NYC).

Additionally, it's been revealed that Israel Adesanya's arrest was made near the TSA screening area of the American Airlines terminal by the Port Authority Police Department.

That said, the Nigerian-New Zealand combat sports icon could likely have to deal with legal repercussions due to having been caught carrying metal knuckles at JFK in NYC. If prosecuted, Adesanya faces up to a year in prison and may have to pay fines.

Nevertheless, as per MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, Adesanya's manager has issued a statement explaining that the brass knuckles were gifted to 'Izzy' by a fan. Furthermore, after being flagged by the authorities at JFK, Adesanya disposed of the gift and cooperated with the authorities. Apparently, the matter has been resolved and Adesanya is on his way home.

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Michael Bisping defends the referee's stoppage in the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira UFC 281 fight

Israel Adesanya was beaten twice by archnemesis Alex Pereira in the sport of kickboxing, via unanimous decision in 2016 and by third-round KO in 2017. Fast-forward to this month, and 'Izzy' lost to Pereira yet again, this time in the sport of MMA.

Despite almost finishing 'Poatan' in round one of their UFC middleweight title matchup at UFC 281, Adesanya was stopped via TKO in round five and lost his belt.

In an edition of his Believe You Me podcast, UFC great Michael Bisping alluded to the fact that certain sections of the MMA community believe referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight early as 'Izzy' was still standing. 'The Count' and UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith defended Goddard's stoppage.

Both Bisping and Smith suggested that had Goddard let the fight continue, Pereira would've KO'd Adesanya cold. They feel this would've adversely affected Israel Adesanya's confidence in a potential UFC rematch against Alex Pereira. Bisping stated:

"Goddard did 'Izzy' a favor. Because they are going to rematch, that sounds logical... Pereira's gonna welcome it 'cause now he's beaten him [Izzy] three times. And had 'Izzy' left there unconscious, staring up at the lights, then the psychological advantage for Pereira would have been even bigger."

Watch Bisping's assessment in the video below: