Israel Adesanya almost found himself in one of the most unexpected fights of his career.
One of the most accomplished fighters of his generation, Adesanya is currently on the longest layoff of his MMA career. He hasn’t competed since suffering a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Riyadh last February. While the break may look intentional from the outside, Adesanya revealed that staying away from the Octagon for this long was never the plan.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Adesanya explained that he initially wanted time to reset after the loss, but a short-notice opportunity emerged later in the year before an injury shut it down.
“A year without fighting. I’ve never done that before in this game,” Adesanya said. “So this is new territory, uncharted territory, and it’s exciting.”
After returning home, Adesanya said he eased back into everyday life without feeling pressure to rush into another fight.
“I came back home, and I was just back into the regular flow of things,” he said. “There was no inkling like, ‘I need to fight again. I need to fight soon.’ I was just like, nah, I’m going to chill for a bit. I wasn’t hurt from the fight itself. I just took the time to just do me.”
That calm period didn’t last long. Adesanya revealed he was preparing to step in on short notice last fall, a situation he had never experienced before.
“I was going to fight last year, but then I got injured in the gym, and then that opportunity got taken away,” Adesanya said. “It was a short-notice fight as well. And I’ve never done one of those, so that would have been exciting.”
That fight, as it turns out, was against former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder. De Ridder was originally scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Vancouver in October before Hernandez withdrew due to injury.
“RDR. On five weeks’ notice, six weeks’ notice,” Adesanya said. “I was already training, so I was getting ready for a fight. So it would have been like, ‘Right, I’ve never done this before. You’re fit. Hop in there.’ But then that moment got taken away from me.”
Looking back, Adesanya believes the setback may have been a blessing in disguise.
“In hindsight, it was the best thing,” he added. “Even though I wasn’t happy with it then, it was the best thing.”
Brendan Allen ultimately stepped in to face de Ridder and secured a fourth-round stoppage. Adesanya focused on recovery and now turns his attention to his return.
The former two-time middleweight champion headlines UFC Seattle on March 28 against Joe Pyfer, marking his first fight in over a year. While the matchup doesn’t offer the same novelty as a short-notice clash with de Ridder, Adesanya sees it as another chance to evolve.
“My ego is still — I want to shine,” Adesanya said. “That’s the thing, I always want to shine. And I will shine.”
Adesanya believes fans still haven’t seen the full depth of his skill set.
“I know what I can do, and I feel like people haven’t seen my full array of skills yet,” he said. “I just want to show off a lot of skills that I haven’t showed off yet. You’ll see me do things I’ve never done before.”
Later in the video, Adesanya made his intentions even clearer.
“I just want to show off,” he said. “I want to display skills. It’s about skills now, making money, making memories, making history.”
As Adesanya prepares for his return, he has also been candid about where he stands in his career. He admitted he’s closer to the end than the beginning and doesn’t plan to fight past 40, estimating he has fewer than 10 bouts left.
For now, though, the focus remains simple: stepping back into the Octagon, testing new ground, and reminding everyone why Adesanya remains one of MMA’s most compelling figures.
