It’s been over a year since Israel Adesanya last stepped into the UFC Octagon.
On his rise to Middleweight gold, “Stylebender” made headlines and fans alike by fighting incredibly often. By bringing a kickboxing schedule to the cage, Adesanya was able to capture the belt in just his second year on the roster, and he didn’t slow down afterward. As champion, Adesanya consistently fought to defend his crown two-to-three times per year, building a remarkable MMA legacy in half a decade.
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Since losing his title to Sean Strickland, however, Adesanya’s career has slowed. He fought just once in both 2024 and 2025 with his most recent appearance being a second-round knockout loss to top contender Nassourdine Imavov last February. Since then, Adesanya has been on the sidelines, though the Kiwi kickboxer isn’t overly upset about his layoff.
“A year without fighting. I’ve never done that before in this game,” Adesanya said on his YouTube page (via MMA Fighting). “So this is new territory, uncharted territory, and it’s exciting … I came back home, and I was just back into the regular flow of things. There was no inkling like, ‘I need to fight again. I need to fight soon.’ I was just like, nah, I’m going to chill for a bit. I wasn’t hurt from the fight itself. I just took the time to just do me.
“I was going to fight last year, but then I got injured in the gym, and then that opportunity got taken away. It was a short-notice fight, as well. And I’ve never done one of those, so that would have been exciting.”
That short-notice opportunity turned out to against the surging Reinier de Ridder, who was riding very high throughout most of 2025 until Brendan Allen upset him in Vancouver. Allen was filling in for Anthony Hernandez that night, but “Stylebender” revealed he too received the call to step in for “Fluffy.”
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“RDR. On five weeks’ notice, six weeks’ notice,” Adesanya explained. “I was already training, so I was getting ready for a fight. So it would have been like, ‘Right, I’ve never done this before. You’re fit. Hop in there.’ But then that moment got taken away from me. But that’s, in hindsight, the best thing. Even though I wasn’t happy with it then, it was the best thing.”
Fortunately, there is an end in sight to Adesanya’s layoff. The former champion will return in yet another main event opposite Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle next month. It’s a very important matchup for “Stylebender,” who will be looking to avoid his fourth consecutive loss.
He’ll enter the cage as a slight underdog.
