Kamaru Usman used his similar situation to offer advice to Israel Adesanya about pursuing an immediate rematch against Sean Strickland.
At UFC 293, Strickland shockingly ended Adesanya’s second middleweight title reign with a unanimous decision win. It didn’t take long for fans and media members to debate whether or not ‘The Last Stylebender’ should pursue an immediate rematch.
It’s unclear what Adesanya wants to do next, but Kamaru Usman believes he should be careful returning to the Octagon quickly.
In August 2022, Usman suffered a historic head-kick knockout loss against Leon Edwards. Seven months later, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ received an immediate rematch and lost again, this time by majority decision.
During an appearance on DC&RC, Usman tried to put himself in Adesanya’s shoes by detailing his mindset after losing against Edwards the first time:
“Yes, I was definitely in his position, and, honestly, looking back now, I probably rushed it. Probably should have taken a little bit more time off, and then if I’m still guaranteed that shot, go fight for that title. A big part of the reason you jump into the immediate rematch is, and I would say this to myself, when you’re in the middle of a title reign, a day doesn’t go by that I’m not the man in charge.”
Usman continued:
“After that fight, I’m like, no, I’m not gonna give that man an opportunity to carry around my belt and say he’s the champion and start to do certain things and think of himself as the champion. The longer that is, the more they get to build that confidence and that bravado, and I don’t like that. As a competitor, I was like, no, you know what, let’s get this one out the way, send him back down to where he belongs as a contender.”
Kamaru Usman would like to see Israel Adesanya endure an extended layoff before fighting again
Israel Adesanya has remained active as a UFC champion, fighting eight times over the last three years. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him want to return quickly and avenge his loss against Sean Strickland.
Meanwhile, some fighters and analysts believe ‘The Last Stylebender’ should endure an extended layoff before returning to the Octagon. During the same appearance on DC&RC, Kamaru Usman had this to say about the situation:
“For Israel, I’m sure, as a competitor, he’s feeling a little bit of this as well. Thinking, no, this guy shouldn’t have beaten me in the first place, just like I felt. This guy shouldn’t be in there with me in the first place, as I felt. You wanna get it back and get that stain off you right away. But, if you’re guaranteed that shot, I would like to see him take a little bit of time, enjoy life.”
Usman continued:
“I would like to see him take a little bit of time and just really indulge in being who he is and letting your body rest and recover. When you’re fighting over and over and over and over, your body starts to break down slowly and you don’t realize it until it’s too late.”
Adesanya will have to decide what he wants to do next. As for Dana White’s point of view, the UFC president has shown interest in ‘The Last Stylebender’ receiving an immediate rematch but claimed things could change. Only time will tell who Strickland’s first middleweight title defense will be against.
