Israel Adesanya last appeared inside the Octagon in September 2023 where he suffered a loss to Sean Strickland and has not been very active since then, however, after months of silence, he finally hinted at a possible comeback in the near future.
He lost two of his last three fights, but the 34-year-old was quick to shut rumours suggesting he will not compete for four more years.
Adesanya was present in Saudi Arabia to watch Anthony Joshua vs Otto Waim and spoke about his future where he confirmed that he will be back soon.
“I'm taking my time. My last few fights, I had four fights in 14 months as a champion in the UFC, that's unheard of. Life has forced me to take some time off, and I will, but you will see me soon,” he told IFL TV.
He admitted that he joked about being out till 2027 and will soon be back in action.
“I said 2027, and people out there thought I actually meant that. But, you'll see,” he added.
After his recent defeat to Strickland, Adesanya openly discussed his future and confirmed he's taking a break.
"Before this fight I was very like, 'I know I'm on the back end of my career, so I want to do as many as I can because I know [when] I'm done with this I'm going to miss it," he shared.
"I'm trying to do as much as I can. But after this fight, and again, 14 months and four fights, it's not just the fights, it's the training and everything. I had injuries going into the Pereira fight, you've seen that.
"I don't make any excuses. Strickland got me on the night because he was the better fighter on the night. He did his work well. He had a good team behind him."
Strickland will defend his title in January in a fight against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. Adesanya might finally mark his return at UFC 300, but no formal discussions have begun as of now.
Amid all the rumours and speculations, UFC boss Dana White remains eager to see one of UFC’s biggest names back in action.
It is worth mentioning that the 34-year-old didn’t lose any of his first 12 middleweight fights.
