Israel Adesanya set to return amid links to UFC 300 title fight headliner: ‘We answered a call’
Former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya is reportedly set to make his return to the Octagon in the near future, according to his head coach, Eugene Bareman, with the City Kickboxing staple “answering a call” from the promotion, amid continues links to a UFC 300 headliner against newly-minted champion, Dricus du Plessis.
Adesanya, the current number one ranked middleweight contender, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 293 back in September, losing his crown for the second time in a calendar year with a upset decision loss to rival, Sean Strickland.
And announcing plans to take a long-time hiatus away from the Octagon, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Israel Adesanya has since confirmed he is ready to fight again, as he recovers from an undisclosed injury suffered in recent months.
Israel Adesanya set to return soon
However, amid links to a comeback fight atop a massive UFC 300 card in April, Adesanya’s head coach has alluded to a potential return in the very near future, revealing the ex-champion has “answered” the call to fight on a particular date for the organization.
“I can say that, we’re ready to fight,” Eugene Bareman said during an interview with The Mac Life. “Israel (Adesanya) is ready to fight. He’s in camp – has been in camp. And we answered a call that said, ‘Can you be ready for this?’ And we assessed it because Israel is coming off an injury.”
“We assessed everything and put everything together, and decided as a team, yeah, let’s get into camp, and let’s start to get fit. Let’s come back a little earlier, at some risk – at some proper risk.” Bareman explained. “And there’s a strong possibility that this fight could happen on this date. And let’s act as if we’re fighting on this date.”
For du Plessis, the Pretoria native minted himself as the undisputed middleweight champion back in January, beating the aforenoted common-foe, Strickland in a close, split decision win over the defending gold holder.
Do you expect Israel Adesanya to return at UFC 300?
