Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker react to national rugby team hiring late teammate Fau Vake's assaulter: "These dogs should crawl under a rock and die"
Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker have responded after Fau Vake's assaulter has reportedly been hired by a national rugby team. Both Adesanya and Hooker strongly disapproved of it.
Adesanya and Hooker's CKB (City Kickboxing) teammate, amateur MMA fighter, Fau Vake, was involved in a street altercation near Edinburgh Castle bar in Auckland, New Zealand in May 2021. As captured on CCTV footage, he and his brother Ika Vake were outnumbered by four men -- Daniel Havili, Ofa He Mooni Folau, Siofilisi Paongo, and Semisie Pomale.
Havili blindsided Fau with a punch, and his head hit the pavement. Fau passed away a few days later at the Auckland City Hospital.
Semisie Pomale faced two counts of common assault, which carry a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment. Per The New Zealand Herald, despite being the first to initiate the violence, Pomale, who had no prior convictions, avoided a conviction after Fau Vake's death.
Auckland District Court Judge Peter Winter discharged Pomale without conviction, provided he donates $2k to the Salvation Army or Auckland City Mission within the next month.
Judge Winter concurred with the defense that Pomale didn't anticipate the fatal escalation and was demonstrably remorseful, indicated by his having taken courses for alcohol abuse and anger management.
Previously Pomale's legal counsel argued that a conviction would undermine his export business (active from New Zealand to Tonga and other Pacific Islands), particularly hampering travel to Australia.
The defense later highlighted Pomale's supposed three-year contract and role as the Tongan national rugby team's deputy manager, a position supposedly valid from April 2024, which would entail traveling to nations like the U.S. and Canada. It was argued that a conviction would've hindered Pomale's ability to travel and adversely affected him and the team.
Nigeria-born Kiwi combat sports megastar Israel Adesanya took to Instagram and questioned the rugby team. The former two-time UFC middleweight champion wrote:
"Really? Tongan rugby... So you hire the POS who initiated the attack that led to Fau's death? Oooooh we're sorry you instigating our brother's death inconvenienced your travel plans. Fau's plans to represent Tonga on the global stage were permanently erased. Can any tokos confirm or deny this...let me know."
Meanwhile, the No. 6-ranked UFC lightweight contender, New Zealand's Dan Hooker, took to X and wrote:
"I love being a cage fighter and not a main stream athlete so I can voice my opinion of things that pi** me off. These dogs should crawl under a rock and die. To have a national sports team protect these cowards is a disgrace. Scum."
A look at the others involved in the attack against Fau Vake
A few months after Fau Vake's passing, Ofa He Mooni Folau pleaded guilty to a pair of representative charges of assault with intent to injure. In Aug. 2021, Folau received a sentence of six months home detention, which notably elicited criticism from UFC lightweight Dan Hooker and others.
In April 2022, Daniel Havili was handed a sentence of two years and nine months for manslaughter. Hooker and many of Fau Vake's supporters called for a tougher verdict. Vake's sister put forth a statement, condemning the verdict.
In the ensuing weeks, Siofilisi Paongo, who's a veteran of the Tongan army, faced charges of assault with intent to injure and common assault and was handed a sentence of five months' home detention.