DA: Israel Adesanya’s brass knuckle charge to be dismissed

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be clear of a weapons charge he picked up leaving New York if he stays out of trouble for six months.

Adesanya on Tuesday was issued an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD) by the court in Queens County (N.Y.), meaning his charge will be dismissed in six months if he doesn’t get arrested again in the county, a spokesperson for the Queens County District Attorney’s office confirmed to MMA Fighting. TMZ was first to report Adesanya’s likely dismissal.

Adesanya was ordered to return to court after being detained at JFK Airport in Queens. Airport security found brass knuckles in his luggage, which his manager later said were given to him by a fan.

Adesanya was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He faced a maximum of one year in jail or three years probation in addition to fines if convicted.

The manager, Tim Simpson, said the charge had been dismissed after Adesanya was allowed to board a plane back to his native New Zealand. But the ex-champ, who ceded his title to Alex Pereira on Nov. 12 at UFC 281, had to jump through another hoop.

Adesanya was represented in court on Tuesday by David Fish, general counsel and athlete manager for his reps at Paradigm Sports Management. Fish said he met with the government’s attorney beforehand and explained the circumstances of what happened.

“It was very simple and straightforward,” Fish told MMA Fighting. “Both law enforcement and the Queens DA did the right thing here. He stays out of trouble for six months, and this is dismissed and sealed, which is the right result here. You can’t possess those things, but it was really just an innocent mistake. He rushed out the house he was staying in to get to the airport and basically dumped everything into his suitcase. Unfortunately, [the brass knuckles] were one of the things.”

An immediate rematch between Adesanya and Pereira, who’s won two previous kickboxing bouts against “The Last Stylebender” in addition to his recent MMA win, is possible for the immediate future, UFC President Dana White said after UFC 281. Adesanya was up on scorecards before he was stopped with a flurry of punches in the fifth round.