Israel Adesanya Addresses His Future And Desire To Reclaim UFC Gold

Israel Adesanya recently expressed his candid thoughts on how he wants his fighting career’s final days to unfold.

Adesanya went on a hiatus after losing three bouts in a row. In his last fight, which was the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s first non-title bout in over five years, he faced Nassourdine Imavov and lost by TKO in Round 2.

The 36-year-old had taken some time off to support teammates and reflect, as he stated following the Imavov loss:

“I have to chill and then think about things. I will relax first for a little bit, just help the teammates who have fights coming up, and yeah, see what I want to. I was going to do that anyway, but you know, now I’m forced to. Shoutout to Nassourdine for that.”

Check out Israel Adesanya’s comments below:

Israel Adesanya wants to fight “more freely and try some risky sh*t” When he returns

During a recent chat with Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA, Israel Adesanya was asked if he still wants to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship or would he rather fight an entertaining contender like Michael ‘Venom’ Page. In response, ‘The Last Stylebender’ declared that his main goal is no longer to win the undisputed belt. He wants to fight without fear of losing anything at the age of 36.

“For me, it’s not about belts anymore. I’ve got two shiny belts at home. It looks good, but I just wanna fight. I just wanna do things like I did on my way to the belt. I still fought really well when I was defending the belt, but I wanna fight more freely and try some risky sh*t.”

Check out Israel Adesanya’s comments below:

“For me its not about the belts anymore” – Israel Adesanya 👀😲

“For me it’s not about belts anymore. I’ve got two shiny belts at home. It looks good, but I just wanna fight. I just wanna do things like I did on my way to the belt. I still fought really well when I was defending… pic.twitter.com/2lLKnHclBG

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) December 26, 2025

Fans have been waiting for ‘The Last Stylebender’ to get back inside the octagon and turn the tide in his favor, especially after the Imavov loss.

As a two-time UFC middleweight champion with five successful title defenses during his first reign, Adesanya’s legacy is already cemented. So, as he envisions, a return marked by a few thrilling wins before finally laying down the gloves would be enough to ride off into the sunset knowing he gave the sport everything.

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