Israel
Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Sean
Strickland in a massive upset in the main event at UFC 293
earlier this month.“The Last Stylebender” subsequently
pleaded guilty to a charge of drunk driving from an incident
dating back to Aug. 19.
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The former middleweight champ was returning home with friends after
dinner when they encountered a “Random Breath Testing Unit.”
Adesanya was 37 milligrams over the legal limit of 50 milligrams
and has issued an apology for his misconduct.
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White was recently asked to
weigh in on Adesanya’s DUI charge and whether it had any role to
play in his title loss. White summed it up crisply calling it a
“bad decision” while also advising people to use cabs or drivers
when drunk, especially if they can afford it easily.
“Bad decisions, man. No matter how many drinks you’ve had – if you
drink, don’t drive,” White
said at the Contender Series post-fight press conference on
Tuesday night. “Especially, it’s one thing, Ubering is easy, but
when you have that kind of money that kid has, get a driver. Have
somebody drive you or Uber or whatever. He made a bad decision.
Thank God nobody was hurt. Him or nobody else. You know what I say
about mistakes: How do you handle them after you make them?
Hopefully, that’s a one-and-done for him, and he never does it
again.”
Adesanya’s sentencing is set for Jan. 10, which can be a maximum of
up to three months’ jail time or a fine of $4,500.