VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Gives Surprising Update On His UFC Future
Israel Adesanya has given quite the update on his fighting future.
The former UFC middleweight champion has had a rough go at it as of late. He dropped the 185-pound gold to Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 in a massive upset. Then, in New Zealand, he pleaded guilty to drunk driving. The incident occurred just a few weeks before the Strickland fight.
Many speculated on what would be next for "The Last Stylebender." A rematch with Strickland certainly seemed like a possibility, or even a grudge match with Dricus du Plessis. Fight fans were left with even more questions after UFC CEO Dana White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports that the winner of the UFC 294 co-main event between Khamzat Chimaev and late replacement opponent Kamaru Usman will be granted a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.
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Israel Adesanya made an appearance on The Rock FM, where he revealed that he plans to step away from fighting for the time being, but he will not hang up his gloves.
"I'm not making any excuses, Strickland got me on the night 'cause he was the better fighter on the night, and he did his work well," Adesanya said. "He had a good team behind him. I never made excuses, I gave him props, but now I'm gonna take time to look after myself. I'm not gonna fight for a long time, I'm definitely not gonna retire 'cause I know me. I'm not leaving like that. I know me, but if I did I'm fine. I don't need to prove anything else, but I know what I can do and I know what I can change in my lifestyle to make my body adapt to where I need to be. So, I'm gonna heal myself up. You won't see me fighting for a long time."
Adesanya admitted that it would've been cool if he joined Alex Volkanovski in taking a short-notice fight at UFC 294, but he feels the need to heal up and get his mind right. One UFC Hall of Famer who will undoubtedly support this move is Michael Bisping. Following the news of Adesanya's guilty plea, Bisping took to his YouTube channel to share his belief that "Izzy" should be taking a break and the middleweight division should move on in the meantime.
Here is the video where Adesanya reveals his current status:
If you use any quotes from this article, please leave an H/T to MMAKnockout.com for the transcription.
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