Israel Adesanya reveals injury setback sidelining him from UFC return: ‘I want to say more but I’m keeping it to myself’
Former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has revealed an undisclosed injury setback is likely to keep him from full-time training until the end of February at the very earliest – with the City Kickboxing striker linked with a stunning comeback fight atop a UFC 300 card in April.
Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 293 back in September in Sydney, Australia, suffering a massive upset loss to Sean Strickland by way of unanimous decision – in one of the biggest upset defeats in Octagon antiquity.
Israel Adesanya reveals new injury setback
And linked with an impending comeback in the coming months, Adesanya, who admitted recently that he’s linked on “the back end” of his career in combat sports, revealed he is waiting to return to training at the end of next month, as he rehabilitates an unspecified injury.
“Yeah, we’re good, we’re good,” Israel Adesanya told Combat TV during a recent interview. “The difference is, a lot of people, when they get hurt in the game, they like to, ‘Ah, I got this injury and it’ll take this long to recover and whatnot.’ I’m like, ‘Why are you telling them?’ A smart coach who knows that injury exists will try and use it against you. I never like to let the enemy know what’s my next move.”
“When I come back into the gym and start training full-time, I’m in a new space with a new energy,” Israel Adesanya explained. “Probably end of next month, maybe. With the way I heal my body I don’t think it’ll take that long, but yeah, end of next month I’m probably thinking. I’m going to do rehab now… and yeah, things are trucking along quite nicely, tracking along quite nicely.”
Slated to appear at UFC 297 later this month in a trip to Canada for the promotion, Adesanya is set to sit Octagon-side for a middleweight championship fight between Sean Strickland, and arch-rival, Dricus du Plessis.
When do you expect Israel Adesanya to make his UFC comeback?
