Former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has expressed excitement ahead of his highly anticipated return to the octagon, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigeria-born fighter is expected to challenge rival, and new champion Dricus du Plessis for the championship later this year. Although nothing has been announced officially, the promotion is reportedly targeting UFC 305 on August 18 in Perth, Western Australia.
In a post on his YouTube channel on Friday, “The Last Stylebender” discussed the potential return, showed some of the new elements to his strength and conditioning program, and also revealed his new mindset when it comes to his fighting career.
“How excited am I to get back in the octagon? I’m excited,” Adesanya said. “I’m excited, it’s been a year, almost a year, like 11 months by the time I get back in the octagon. People are like, ‘Oh, I hope you get the belt back, I hope you get the belt back,’ I have belts. I don’t need any more belts. I’m coming for heads. That’s what I want to do.
“Just a few that I have to touch, and take.”
In his most recent outing, Adesanya lost the middleweight title to Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 this past September, his second loss in his past three fights.
After losing the title to multi-time opponent Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022, the 35-year-old got revenge with a brutal knockout win over Pereira five months later at UFC at UFC 287.
Du Plessis has won nine straight, including capturing middleweight gold at UFC 297 in January, defeating Strickland via split decision.
Adesanya’s approach to his return has been a patient one, and promises that when he steps back inside the octagon, he will do so in an emphatic way.
“I’m excited to come back, but everything comes at its own time,” Adesnaya said. “So right now it’s just the time for training, chilling, working, relaxing, healing. And then when it’s time, time for killing.”
