Israel Adesanya targets UFC return before year’s end: ‘I can’t wait to do it again’
Former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has revealed he is hopeful of fighting once more before the end of this year, if not early next year — claiming he is excited about making a return to the Octagon in a bid to snap a two-fight losing skid.
Adesanya, a former undisputed middleweight gold holder twice under the banner of the promotion, has been out of action since he headlined UFC 305 back in August in Perth, dropping a stunning fourth round rear-naked choke submission loss in his heated grudge title charge against Dricus du Plessis.
The defeat marked City Kickboxing staple, Adesanya’s second consecutively following a prior title fight loss against common-opponent, Sean Strickland back in September of last year ‘Downunder.
Israel Adesanya planning year-end return to UFC
And amid links with another lengthy lay-off from the Octagon, Adesanya has revealed this week that he hopes to enter the Octagon one more time this annum, and is excited about the possibility of fighting again.
“Even though I don’t have the belt, they [fans] still got my name in their mouth,” Israel Adesanya said on The Adam Carolla Show. “I’m still Israel Adesanya. For me, I’ll let them call me out, or whatever. At the moment, I want to fight one more time before the end of this year, or early next year. But I don’t know yet. 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 Dana (White) will hit me up at some point.”
“I can’t wait to do it [fight] again,” Israel Adesanya explained. “Against who? We’ll find out.”
And whilst remaining tight-lipped on a potential return opponent for his comeback, Adesanya was the subject of links to a title-eliminator with surging Russian-French contender, Nassourdine Imavov over the course of the weekend, with the former Fernand Lopez trainee landing a decision win over the streaking, Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night Paris.
