He may have traded right hooks and calf kicks for DJ decks last year, but Israel Adesanya insists he is motivated to continue his UFC career, dispelling suggestions he is in his final chapter as a professional mixed martial artist.
Adesanya will make his return from a 13-month UFC layoff in Seattle this weekend. The Nigerian-born New Zealander will face Joe Pyfer in the middleweight main event at Climate Pledge Arena.
It will mark Adesanya’s second straight fight night appearance after a run of 14 pay-per-view appearances, 12 of which he was one half of the headlining act. Despite a step down in event profile, the former middleweight champion insists he remains as motivated as ever to perform.
“Not really, no, I actually prefer it,” Adesanya told ESPN this week when asked if he struggled for energy away from the pay-per-view spotlight. “Yeah, I like the big lights, but the lights are still bright over here.
“Just because it’s a fight night, I mean [it’s still the same job], the Paramount deal just got signed, so that means [New Zealand rights holders] TVNZ finally gets to watch these for free, and not just on Sky [pay-per-view], so it’s way more eyes on me now at home.
“So, yeah, I’m very happy with that. And I just like a cruisy fight week, and then on fight night, the lights are still the same.”
UFC fans who do not follow Adesanya on social media, nor engage with his popular YouTube channel, FreeStylebender, have probably been wondering what the 36-year-old has been up to in his yearlong absence from the Octagon.
He has been a continued presence at Auckland’s City Kickboxing, helping prepare teammates for fights of their own, including Carlos Ulberg, who will chase the gym’s second UFC belt against Jirí Procházka for the light heavyweight title at UFC 237 on April 11. Adesanya also has taken the time to pursue other passions.
“Just doing things outside of fighting that I like, just focusing on myself,” Adesanya told ESPN. “I started a festival, became a DJ for a little bit, and yeah, just clocking back into work now … a lot happens in a year, and it was good to just, you know, express myself in more ways than fighting.
“I launched Afro Soul, played at my own festival — headlined by Burner Boy — and we’re doing another one this year around the same time, so it was just good for me to showcase that I am more than fighting.”
Is the fire to compete, to put in the same work that saw him become the second most dominant middleweight of all time, still there then?
“I don’t know if it’s my final chapter — it’s on the back end of my career — but definitely not my final chapter … it’s easy to have those [retirement] thoughts, but not me.
“I could just call it quits and just do whatever I feel. Like even this DJ-ing thing — I could have really just milked it for what it is. But nah, I just have these skills and these tendencies I have to express through controlled violence.”
Despite his unwavering confidence, there is no hiding from the fact that Adesanya is on a three-fight skid. After reclaiming the middleweight belt from Alex Pereira, Adesanya has since suffered defeats by Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis and Nassourdine Imavov.
Adesanya rejected suggestions he may have lost focus or simply not put in the work to stay at the top of the division, instead pointing to his long combat sports career as the reason why he was not at his best.
“There’s always levels, you can always get better at anything in life,” he told ESPN. “I had to just take a step back and let my body rest, let my mind rest, because again I was very active, which a lot of people wouldn’t do in my position,
“So yeah, just let the body rest, let the mind rest and heal. After doing that, we just built the body back up, bulletproofed it, and now I get to express that soon.”
In a sign of how Adesanya has slipped on the UFC middleweight mantle, Pyfer is the lowest ranked opponent the New Zealander has faced since he fought Marvin Vettori [then unranked] back in 2018.
“Well-rounded opponent, very dangerous, but I look to put him away,” Adesanya said of Pfyer. “Like I said, I have these tendencies, and I want to express it through controlled violence, and he’s the recipient of it this time.”
Another defeat this weekend will only further drive questions around Adesanya’s future. Conversely, a win could open up an unlikely path back to a third UFC title.
For now, though, Adesanya does not dare look beyond Pyfer.
“I just want to perform well, because when I perform, I show up,” he said. “So yeah, I’m just going to go in there and show off like I normally do, like when I’m free.
“I miss the feeling of winning. I don’t need it, but I want it, and I’m going to get what I want.”