Former UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has teased a return to the octagon soon in a recent interview in Saudi Arabia. This comes after many reports of the superstar taking some much needed time off from competition after losing his belt last September.
Last time out was an incredibly disappointing night for Adesanya which saw Sean Strickland win a convincing decision over the champion after knocking him down in the very first round. Being a mega star in the sport whenever Adesanya spoke in public after the loss it drew attention, in particular back in October when he mentioned the year 2027 as the possible return date. However, in a recent interview with IFL the former king revealed the return could be sooner than anticipated.
“My last few fights I’ve had four fights in 14 months as a champion in the UFC. That’s unheard of. I was the most active champion — not fighter — champion in the league. Life has forced me to take some time off, and I will. But, you will see me soon. I said ‘2027,’ and the retards out there actually thought I meant that. But, you’ll see.”
Quotes via MMA Mania
UFC 300
The event that everyone is talking about currently is UFC 300 on April 13th which has recently had a couple of announcements on what is set to be the biggest card of the year. Fans and media continue to question who can headline such a collosal card especially as the options seem to be limited.
Conor McGregor is the obvious candidate but there is so much speculation around him that no one can be confident that he is the man to headline. Sean O’Malley the newest superstar is on UFC 299 defending his bantamweight strap against old foe Marlon Vera so he is out of the picture. Ever reliable Alexander Volkanovski headlines UFC 298 in February up in Anaheim so it’s unlikely we will see the Australian on marquee event.
Islam Makhachev was a prime candidate after his unbelievable win in Abu Dhabi last October however the UFC 300 event does fall just after Ramadan so Makhachev will most likely return in the summer.
Finally at heavyweight new interim champion Tom Aspinall is determined to fight Stipe Miocic or Jon Jones next for the undisputed title however the UFC are against the idea and want to match the pair for a legacy fight later in the year. Aspinall will not wait around and will want to fight in the meantime so could we see him defend an interim belt at 300.
Israel Adesanya at UFC 300?
Adesanya is the last remaining superstar that could potentially headline the card and now with his recent comments we could be seeing the Nigerian return to the octagon on that card.
Long standing competitor Alex Pereira could be the return opponent after the claimed his second UFC title in November at 205lbs. Recently he posted a cryptic message on his Instagram that has many speculating a fight at UFC 300 against aforementioned Aspinall for the interim heavyweight belt. This stems further from an interview Aspinall did on the True Geordie Podcast where he felt that Pereira was sizing him up at the UFC 295 press conference.
Khamzat Chimaev has been calling out Israel Adesanya alongside other champions ever since joining the organisation. The Chechen bogeyman is aiming to be the opponent that the former champ faces on his return. Chimaev narrowly defeated fellow countryman and good friend of Adesanya, Kamaru Usman in October in a gruelling war for 3 rounds. Now he wants the former middleweight champion on his resume too.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
