Former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will have different outlook on his competitive bouts moving forward admitting, ‘I know I am on the backend of my career.’
After his upset loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, The Last Stylebender opted to take a step back and reevaluate things. Talking to boxing trainer and combat sports pundit Teddy Atlas on the FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya admitted that the much-needed time off will serve as more than just an opportunity to let his body recuperate from a hectic couple of years.
It will also give him a chance to better assess his opportunities moving forward. He said:
“That's why I am taking this time off. People were talking like I'm retiring and I'm taking like five years off. I’m like chill, don’t worry. My time off is different to most people's time off. People take two years off. Like I say, four fights in 14 months because I know I'm on the back end of my career.
“I was trying to, because I know what I'm done with this I'm going to miss it, so was trying to do as much as I can. Then I realize it's not about quantity. It's about quality.”
“I'm still going to enjoy this next year when I fight. I know I'll fight next year (2024). 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.
“I'm not going to because again, there's only so much room. I mean, I made a work for me as a champion, but there's only so much room and I'm just like, Look, Iz, just take some time. So I'm going to take my time now and I will learn all of these lessons.”
Earlier on in the podcast, the two discussed Adesanya’s loss to Sean Strickland. After being dropped and rocked heavy in the first round, The Style Bender appeared to struggle to get going while Strickland poured forward with his unrelenting and unorthodox style.
Feeling the fight slip from his grasp, the New Zealand native described how it took wise words from his longtime coach Eugene Bareman to try and reign him in.
“I went back to the corner and I was like, right whatever it was round three, round four, whatever it was I was like. ‘Right, we go this round. We must go to this round.’ So even when I asked Eugen in the fifth round ‘Is this the fifth round?’ He’s like ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Should I just, should I just go? and he was like ‘No. Let's be tactical.’ because I kind of was like, ‘F**k it, let's go.”
“Like if I die, I die like go out on your shield, you know, kill or be killed. But then Eugene was like ‘No, let's be tactical’ It got to the point where I realized that this fight is getting away from me, and it got to a point where I felt like ‘Damn, it's too far gone.’
“And then, you know when someone is in a race, in the hundred meters. He was too far ahead and I just couldn't catch up. And I was just trying my best to try and finish in the early rounds. But regardless, I never lost hope.”
Although it is unclear as to exactly when fans will see Adesayna back in the cage, it appears The Last Stylebender would be keen to return this calendar year and if his new mantra of quality over quantity is anything to go by, fans can expect some incredible match ups once he is back.
