Israel Adesanya recently found himself in hot water after a road rage incident, but this UFC veteran thinks there’s more to the story.
The footage of Adesanya arguing with another person during the altercation quickly surfaced online, going viral and sparking controversy. However, Chael Sonnen has come to Adesanya’s defense, suggesting that the UFC star was “set up” in a ploy to provoke a reaction and potentially file a lawsuit.
Sonnen believes Adesanya, who’s typically cool under pressure, was targeted in an attempt to smear his reputation, calling him ‘innocent’ in the drama. As the situation unfolds, fans are left wondering if this was truly a calculated setup against ‘The Last Stylebender.’
Sonnen took to Instagram to state that this was not a freak incident. Rather, he believes that the person who filmed it and the person in the altercation were in cahoots trying to make money off Adesanya.
He believes they were hoping Adesanya would get physical which would then be caught on tape and make for an easy lawsuit to win. The former UFC fighter further elaborated saying,
“Izzy handled this perfectly. By the way at the time not knowing he was set up, not knowing there is a guy across the street filming the whole thing. I don’t think the plan was to get social media clicks. I think the plan was to get Izzy to touch him and then the guy curls up in a foetal position and files a lawsuit. This was a set up. Adesanya completely innocent.”
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Thankfully for Adesanya, common sense prevailed and he let his words do the talking. ‘The Last Style Bender’ did not raise a finger and luckily escaped any sort of legal ramifications. However, he did shed light on what exactly happened.
Adesanya sheds light on road rage incident
The former middleweight champion has finally opened up about a disturbing road rage incident he faced on Wednesday, sharing his frustration and disappointment.
While leaving a café, Adesanya was subjected to racial abuse from a man in a passing car who challenged him to a fight. Despite trying to wave it off, the situation escalated when the man got out of the car and approached him aggressively.
Israel Adesanya has released a statement following the road rage incident, and says he’ll be pressing charges against the man who racially abused and threatened violence against him:
“I am extremely disappointed after an incident on Wednesday when a random member of the public… pic.twitter.com/rA4WqGAutE
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 6, 2024
‘The Last Style Bender’ explained how he tried to de-escalate things, asking bystanders to call the police, but eventually had to defend himself verbally when the man got too close.
The 35-year-old called out the behavior, saying it’s “ridiculous” that he can’t even buy a pie after training without being threatened.
He also criticized the bystanders who chose to film the incident instead of stepping in. Adesanya emphasised that glorifying such violence online is dangerous and urged people to take action in these situations.
