Israel Adesanya was once undefeated in the octagon, but his most decisive victory came in the courtroom — a legal knockout against his opponent.
When the former UFC champion and his now-ex girlfriend, Charlotte Powdrell, hit the rocks, she decided to take him to court over assets. But there was an unexpected twist.
The two-year old saga recently resurfaced on international press.
What Went Down
Powdrell only dated Adesanya between 2019 and 2020, but under New Zealand law one half of a cohabitating couple can seek a legal settlement from a former partner. While media outlets don’t go into details of the court case of Powdrell, because they were in a one-year relationship in New Zealand they may have qualified under the Property (Relationships) Act, which governs the division of assets in “de facto” relationships regardless of marriage or children.
In New Zealand, “De facto couples who’ve been together for less than three years usually aren’t covered by the Act at all. This means that the ordinary rules of property ownership will decide what each person is entitled to. But there are some exceptions to this,“ according to the Community Law Centre in New Zealand. “The law around dividing relationship property is guided by these general principles: both partners have equal status, and their equality should be maintained and enhanced.”
When the case to divide their assets reached court in 2023, she learned that Adesanya, who hails from Nigeria, had placed the majority of his $15 million wealth in his mother’s name. Not only was she left with nothing in the settlement, but because he had no assets in his name she wound up having to pay him. According to unconfirmed media reports, Powdrell, a real estate agent with a net worth of $1 million, had to fork over $500,000 to the “Last Stylebender” fighter.
Adesanya safeguarded his assets by registering them under his mother’s name, effectively leaving his ex nothing to pursue. This maneuver has been used by other pro athletes.
Paris Saint-Germain soccer star Achraf Hakimi, for example, came out of his breakup proceedings unscathed after his estranged wife, Hiba Abouk, discovered that most of his $70 million fortune had been put legally under his mother’s name.
As for, Adesanya he celebrated his legal win on social media in 2023.
“Imagine being so f**n entitled that you think you deserve what a man has worked his whole life for,” Adesanya said on Instagram, Daily Mail reported. “When you came into this life with nothing and tried to leave with millions. But like Achraf Hakimi, my assets are protected. I woulda taken half her st too, but I don’t want half of NOTHING.”
Adesanya’s Money-Making Career
Between 2019 and 2020, Adesanya had three career milestones.
He improved to 17-0 as he won the interim UFC middleweight championship in April 2019 against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, earning him the award of Fight of the Night, according to the blog MMA Fighting.
In August of that year, he went to 18-0 when he took on Robert Whittaker to become the undisputed middleweight champion at UFC 243, according to Sports Illustrated.
And last, he defended the title at UFC 248 against Yoel Romero in March 2020, according to MMA Fighting.
Adesanya lost his undefeated status to his opponent Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 under the light heavyweight division in May 2021.
Of his 29 MMA fights, he has lost only five matches.