Israel Adesanya issues statement alleging racial abuse after video of street altercation with a man goes viral: "I felt threatened"

Israel Adesanya has offered some clarity on the recent video of a street altercation with a man in which the UFC star was spotted spitting on the alleged aggressor. He was caught being challenged to a fight beside his car on Karangahape Road in Auckland.

'The Last Stylebender' could be heard telling the unidentified man to “walk away” during the confrontation. The former UFC middleweight champion appeared to stand his ground when the individual sized him up before Adesanya spit at him.

However, he has presented the account of the events.

Check out the video below:

Adesanya has filed a complaint against the man. According to his statement in the New Zealand Herald, he was racially abused and challenged to a fight. An excerpt from the statement reads:

“I am extremely disappointed after an incident on Wednesday when a random member of the public stopped his car, racially abused me, and challenged me to a fight. We have been in contact with police and will be pressing charges. On Wednesday morning, I was leaving a cafe on K Rd when a passing car slowed, and an occupant began yelling racial abuse and challenging me to fight. I smiled, waved it off, and continued to my car.

"The vehicle stopped, and the abuse continued. I again waved it off. The car then parked, and the passenger got out, approached me aggressively, continued his torrent of abuse, and demanded I fight him. I tried to de-escalate the situation repeatedly. As he got closer, I asked bystanders to call the police."

Furthermore, as per the statement, the man then entered Adesanya's personal space, which caused the UFC star to become defensive and more forceful in his language. 'The Last Stylebender' stated that while the man paused, the abuse persisted. Adesanya claimed that he left the man with "some choice words," cautiously made his way to his car, and drove away.

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Israel Adesanya seeks preventive measures against glorifying incidents like these

The video highlighting Israel Adesanya's confrontation with a man quickly became viral on social media. While some fans praised Adesanya's restraint, others ridiculed it as a hollow victory, especially given his recent string of losses inside the octagon.

Adesanya claimed in the aforementioned statement that such behavior shouldn't be encouraged. He said:

"It’s ridiculous that I can’t buy a pie after training without some idiot screaming despicable things and asking for a fight while his mates film from the sidelines. Threatening violence is no joke. It’s very dangerous, and incidents like this must not be glorified online. I hope in the future people say something rather than get their phones out to film.”