Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya has spoken out about being "racially abused" by a member of the public after a video of the altercation went viral.
Izzy was seen trying to get into his McClaren on Auckland's Karangahape Road before being approached by a man who began squaring up to him (while wearing white crocs).
The former middleweight champion told the Herald the unidentified man "racially abused him" and "challenged him to a fight" while he was grabbing a pie after training.
"I smiled, waved it off, and continued to my car," he said in a statement.
"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."
Izzy added that as the man got closer, he asked bystanders to call the police.
"He then entered my personal space, and I felt threatened," he added.
"To protect myself, I became more forceful in my language and defensive. Though he paused, the abuse continued, so I left him with some choice words, cautiously moved to my car, and drove away."
Izzy has now reported the incident to the police and has urged those who witness situations like this to intervene instead of recording.
"Incidents like this must not be glorified online. I hope in the future people say something rather than get their phones out to film."
Commenters online commended Izzy for his "restraint", with one pointing out the similarity of the situation with "the knob that kept harassing Mike Tyson on a plane until he beat the sh*t out of them".
One person chimed in: "You'd be surprised at how often UFC fighters and boxers have to deal with stuff like this".
Another agreed, adding: "I've seen All Blacks get this kind of attention in the past - usually by drunken people".
Street violence is an important issue for Izzy. His his training partner Fau Valke passed away in 2021 after he was the victim of a 'coward punch'. TMZ reported that the star will also address this incident at an anti-violence event today.
In his latest professional fight, Izzy was defeated by South African Dricus Du Plessis in his latest bout at the UFC 350 in Perth. The middleweight legend isn't letting the loss deter him as he currently has 0 plans to retire.
An important life lesson for all has been learnt here, kids - watching a bit of fighting on the telly doesn't give you the skills - or the right - to step out a champ. And maybe don't racially abuse people on the street? Yeah, thanks.
