Israel Adesanya News

Sean-Strickland-Israel-Adesanya
Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland offers unique theory why Israel Adesanya 'crumbled' against him at UFC 293

Josh Evanoff - January 16, 2024

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland believes Israel Adesanya’s mental state led to his upset win. ‘Tarzan’ is currently slated to return to the octagon this Saturday night. In the main event of UFC 293, Sean Strickland will look to defeat the rising Dricus du Plessis. ‘Stillknocks’ earned the title opportunity last July, scoring a knockout win over Robert Whittaker. The South African then faced off with Israel Adesanya, in a fight that might not happen.

Israel Adesanya training
UFC

Israel Adesanya shares timeline for UFC return after suffering an undisclosed injury

Susan Cox - January 11, 2024

Israel Adesanya is sharing a timeline for his UFC return after suffering an undisclosed injury. The former middleweight champion, Adesanya (24-3 MMA) last fought and was defeated by Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA) last September at UFC 293.

Israel Adesanya
UFC

Israel Adesanya avoids conviction for drunk driving charge, but receives fine among other penalties

Cole Shelton - January 10, 2024

Israel Adesanya avoided conviction for his drunk driving charge in New Zealand. Adesanya was charged on August 19 for drunk driving as he was operating a car with 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, which is over the legal limit of 50 milligrams. The maximum penalty for the drunk driving charge is a term of imprisonment of three months or a fine of $4500. The incident happened just weeks before his title defense against Sean Strickland which he lost by decision.

Israel Adesanya
UFC

Israel Adesanya admits he's on “the back end" of his career, focused on "quality" fights not quantity in 2024

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

Israel Adesanya knows he’s on the back nine of his fighting career. Adesanya is currently 34 years old and has been a pro-MMA fighter since 2012, but has competed in kickboxing for much longer. With over a decade as a pro fighter, Adesanya has put his body through a ton, and after his lopsided decision loss to Sean Strickland to lose his middleweight title, he said he would be taking a breaak from fighting.

Sean-Strickland-Israel-Adesanya
Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya reveals his corner advised him against going for broke in fifth round of UFC title fight with Sean Strickland

Susan Cox - January 8, 2024

Israel Adesanya has revealed that his corner advised him against going for broke in the fifth round of his UFC title fight with Sean Strickland. UFC 293, which took place in September of last year, saw the then current champion Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA) take on Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA) in a middleweight title bout.

Israel Adesanya
UFC

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 3 rumors swirl after ‘Stylebender’ shares photo of his updated physique

Harry Kettle - January 5, 2024

The rumor mill is in full swing after UFC star Israel Adesanya posted a photo of his new physique on social media. Following his loss to Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya made it clear that he planned on taking some time off. He’d been one of the most active champions in mixed martial arts, and at the age of 34, it made sense for him to give his body a break. Either way, regardless of whether you love him or hate him, the UFC is a better place with Israel Adesanya being a consistent presence.

Chael Sonnen and Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya

Chael Sonnen reveals Israel Adesanya's return fight at UFC 300

Cole Shelton - December 28, 2023

Chael Sonnen believes he knows who and when Israel Adesanya will be making his return to the Octagon. Adesanya hasn’t fought since September when he suffered a lopsided decision loss to Sean Strickland to lose his middleweight title. Since then, Adesanya jokingly said he wouldn’t return until 2027, which he has walked back on and claimed he will be back sooner rather than later.

Israel Adesanya
UFC

Israel Adesanya reveals he will make his UFC return "soon"

Harry Kettle - December 23, 2023

UFC star Israel Adesanya has revealed that he will soon make his return to the Octagon after previously claiming he’ll be out for years. At UFC 293 in September, Israel Adesanya fell to a lop-sided defeat against Sean Strickland. In the process, he lost his UFC middleweight championship. ‘Stylebender’ made it clear in the aftermath that he wanted to take some time off, and at one point, he even suggested that his hiatus could last until 2027.

Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya

Alex Pereira says he is willing to train with longtime rival Israel Adesanya in the future: “This is not personal”

Harry Kettle - November 30, 2023

Alex Pereira has confirmed that he would be interested in training with his longtime rival Israel Adesanya in the future. Right now, Alex Pereira is on top of the world. He’s the UFC light heavyweight champion, just months after he previously held the middleweight title. As we know, of course, the man who took that belt from him is none other than Israel Adesanya. The two men have fought four times across kickboxing and mixed martial arts and to this point, Pereira holds a 3-1 lead. Despite that, he’s made it clear that he’s hungry to run it back at some point – perhaps at 205 pounds.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, UFC 295, UFC
Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya teases fans with UFC 298 title fight against Alex Pereira

Susan Cox - November 24, 2023

Israel Adesanya teased fight fans on Thursday with a UFC 298 title bout against Alex Pereira. UFC 298 will take place on February 17th of 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Dricus Du Plessis, UFC, Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya

Dricus Du Plessis says Israel Adesanya “deserves” some time off, but advises against a lengthy hiatus

Susan Cox - November 17, 2023

Dricus Du Plessis says Israel Adesanya ‘deserves’ some time off, but advises against a lengthy hiatus. Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA), a former two-time middleweight champion, suffered his third career loss this past September at UF 293 when Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA) defeated him by unanimous decision. Strickland emerged as the new UFC middleweight champion.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, UFC 295, UFC
Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira believes Israel Adesanya will seek “easier guys” instead of trilogy with Alex Pereira: “Poor guy”

Harry Kettle - November 17, 2023

Glover Teixeira has explained why he doesn’t believe Israel Adesanya will seek out a trilogy fight with Alex Pereira. Last weekend at UFC 295, Alex Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion. In his post-fight interview, he called out Israel Adesanya, a man he holds a 3-1 lead over in combat sports encounters.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, UFC 295, UFC
Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier explains why he wasn’t a fan of Alex Pereira’s callout of Israel Adesanya at UFC 295: “He’s a little wrong to be looking back at Izzy”

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2023

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has explained why he wasn’t the biggest fan of Alex Pereira calling out Israel Adesanya at UFC 295. Last Saturday night, Alex Pereira became the new UFC light heavyweight champion. He did so by knocking out Jiri Prochazka, becoming the latest fighter in UFC history to claim belts in two different weight classes.

Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya

Alex Pereira reacts to Israel Adesanya’s “not very respectful” response to his callout at UFC 295

Harry Kettle - November 14, 2023

Alex Pereira has given his thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s response to his callout at UFC 295 last weekend. On Saturday night, Alex Pereira won the UFC light heavyweight championship. He did so by knocking out Jiri Prochazka, becoming the latest two-weight world champion in UFC history. The win cemented Pereira’s status as one of the most successful fighters of his generation, with many believing it also confirmed his spot in the UFC Hall of Fame one day.

Alex Pereira, Jiri Prochazka, UFC 295, UFC, Pros React
Israel Adesanya

Jan Blachowicz blasts “slimy” Alex Pereira for his callout of Israel Adesanya at UFC 295: “We have unfinished business”

Harry Kettle - November 13, 2023

UFC veteran Jan Blachowicz has hit out at Alex Pereira for calling out Israel Adesanya at UFC 295 last weekend. On Saturday night, Alex Pereira became the latest fighter to win world titles in two weight classes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He did so by knocking out Jiri Prochazka, establishing himself as the new king at 205 pounds.

Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira thinks Israel Adesanya's hiatus would be "waste of talent"

Fernando Quiles - November 12, 2023

Newly-minted UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira believes it would be a shame if Israel Adesanya goes through with a hiatus for as long as he’s indicated. Pereira surprised many by calling out Adesanya following his second-round TKO victory over Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 295. Prochazka was floored by a counter hook from Pereira, who finished the fight with elbows to the head. The bout was contested for vacant UFC light heavyweight gold.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, UFC 295, UFC
Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya reacts to callout from newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira

Chris Taylor - November 11, 2023

Israel Adesanya has responded to the callout he received from newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Pereira (9-2 MMA) squared off with former light heavyweight champion Jiri Procházka (29-4-1 MMA) for the promotion’s vacant 205lbs title in the headliner of tonight’s UFC 295 event at Madison Square Garden.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, UFC 287
Israel Adesanya

Alex Pereira doesn't buy Israel Adesanya's hiatus talk: "He needs a bit more motivation"

Josh Evanoff - November 7, 2023

Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira believes Israel Adesanya is just lacking some motivation. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has been out of action since a title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Despite heading into the matchup a massive favorite, Israel Adesanya was dominated that night earlier this year. ‘Tarzan’ dropped the champion in round one, eventually winning by unanimous decision on the scorecards.