Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is not setting a timeline for his return to competition but indicated it will happen eventually.
Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) spent many years running the top of the sport. Now he’s 36, on a three-fight losing skid and, as of Feb. 1, will hit his first one-year layoff since joining the UFC roster in early 2018.
Adesanya’s activity was a trademark during his kickboxing career and in his pre-UFC run in MMA, but the pace has understandably slowed with time. He is keeping a low profile these days and is not committing to a fighting future in a way he would before.
“Whenever I’m out and about in Auckland, every day I always get the, ‘Oh, are you retired?'” Adesanya said during a Q&A at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Thailand. “At first, I used to have to explain myself like, ‘Nah, I’m just taking a break and doing other things.’ But now I just go, ‘Yeah, I’m retired.’ Until they see me on a poster.”
Adesanya’s recent run of defeats might look bad on paper, but they come against Nassourdine Imavov, Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland, who are three of the top four in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings.
Whenever Adesanya does make his return to the octagon, he said he will go with a different mindset than recent fights. He said he is not competing for accolades but more the fulfillment of combat competition.
“For me, it’s not about belts anymore,” Adesanya said. “I got two shiny belts at home. They look good. I just want to fight. I just want to do things like I did on the way to the belt. I still fought really well when I was defending the belt, but I want to fight more freely. I want to try some risky sh*t like I used to. Remember the Brad Tavares fight? I think in the first round I went for an Imanari Roll that failed. I want to try sh*t like that again.”
