Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya isn’t anticipating a very long layoff before he gets back into the Octagon.
Less than two months removed from a loss to current champ Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305, Adesanya said on “The Adam Carolla Show” he wants to fight “one more time before the end of this year or early next year.”
Adesanya said he doesn’t have an opponent in mind but recognized there are several matchups on the table.
“Even though I don’t have the belt, they still got my name in their mouth,” Adesanya said of his fellow middleweights. “I’m still Israel Adesanya. … I’ll let them call me out.”
He added: “I’m just training, building off where we left off, and I’ll get the call at some point with a few options. I’m sure (UFC CEO) Dana (White) will hit me up at some point.”
Adesanya is a former two-time champ at 185 pounds. He suffered a fourth-round submission defeat to Du Plessis in August in Perth, Australia, losing consecutive bouts for the first time in his MMA career. That was Adesanya’s first fight in 11 months. He was granted an immediate title shot after dropping the belt to Sean Strickland in shocking fashion at UFC 293 in September 2023.
Adesanya said he “of course” wants to face Du Plessis again, but he doesn’t expect a rematch to happen for a while.
“Right now, after I just fought him, I don’t think it’s gonna be immediately,” Adesanya said. “I’d rather just fight – not really for the belt, just fight for fighting’s sake.”
Adesanya, widely considered the greatest middleweight of this generation, could be gearing up for his first non-title bout since facing Anderson Silva in 2019.
