Israel Adesanya opened up about his loss against Sean Strickland and his plans to bounce back in 2024.
In early September 2023, the UFC middleweight division changed forever when Sean Strickland shockingly dethroned Israel Adesanya of the 185-pound title with a dominant unanimous decision win. Since then, Adesanysa has announced he will endure an inactive period to recover and prepare for what’s next.
Adesanya has talked about his loss against Strickland several times, but he’s never reflected on the moment more than he did in a recent YouTube video with Teddy Atlas. During their hour-long conversation, ‘The Last Stylebender’ had this to say about his defeat at UFC 293:
“I got to a point in the fight where it was the end of the round and I remember looking down, as I looked down, I saw droplets of blood. I was like, d*mn, he got me with that jab because his jab was different. It was like a hammer fist…It was catching me because off beat timing, I just wasn’t there.”
Adesanya continued by saying he kept trying to let loose, but his coach, Eugene Bareman, convinced him to remain calm. ‘The Last Stylebender’ mentioned that situation while discussing how he knew the fight against Strickland had slipped away:
“I was kind of like f*ck it, let’s go. If I die, I die. Go out on your shield. Kill or be killed, but then Eugene [Bareman] was like, ‘No, let’s be tactical.’ It got to the point where I realized, okay, this fight is getting away from me. It got to a point where I felt like, damn, it’s too far gone…He was too far ahead and I couldn’t catch up. I was trying my best to finish him in the early rounds, but, regardless, I never lost hope.”
Watch Adesanya’s entire conversation with Atlas below:
Israel Adesanya talks about taking a break from fighting and his plans to return in 2024
Israel Adesanya initially had fans worried after he said he wouldn’t return to the Octagon until 2027. Yet, the former UFC middleweight champion has since claimed he was exaggerating and plans to fight again in 2024.
During the previously mentioned YouTube video, Adesanya had this to say after Teddy Atlas suggested he needs to get back to being himself in the Octagon:
“That’s why I’m taking this time [away from fighting]. People we’re talking like I’m retiring or taking five years off. I’m like, chill, don’t worry. My time off is different than most people’s time off. People take two years off. I’m not doing that. Like I said, four fights in fourteen months. I know I’m on the back end of my career. I know when I’m done with this, I’m going to miss it. So, I’m trying to do as much as I can. Then I realized it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.”
Adesanya continued by talking about his plans to fight within the next twelve months:
“I’m still going to enjoy this. Next year [2024] when I fight, I know I’ll fight next year, I don’t know when I’m going to fight, but when I fight, it’s going to be quality. It’s not going to be quantity.”
Israel Adesanya has done more than enough to solidify himself as one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time. Despite reaching legendary status, the 34-year-old isn’t done testing himself against world-class 185-pounders, which could lead to a historic bounce-back year for ‘The Last Stylebender.’
