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Adesanya Taking Extreme Measures To Bounce Back

Originally posted on BoxingNews.com | Last updated Apr 26, 2025 11:13 AM ET

Israel Adesanya is doing everything he can to regain his top form, but will his measures prove successful?

Adesanya is the former UFC Middleweight Champion who has fallen from grace. He knocked out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to become the champion. However, his career has derailed significantly since then. He suffered a unanimous decision defeat against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in the first defense of his belt. In the aftermath of that fight, Adesanya revealed that he would take a break as his focus was on fighting for fun, not for belts.

However, he had the opportunity to win the title back immediately against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305. Things didn’t turn out how Adesanya wanted, as Du Plessis secured a shock submission win. That was the first time that Adesanya had suffered consecutive defeats in his career. He was then facing serious question marks over whether he should consider retirement.

Adesanya’s Preparation

Those calls have only increased following the result in his last fight against Nassourdine Imavov. The latter stopped him at UFC Saudi, as Adesanya has now suffered three losses on the spin. Izzy has taken significant steps to try and get back into top form. He was seen sparring with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Adesanya admitted that the interaction gave him the motivation to continue fighting.

Izzy was also seen putting himself through a hard routine by teaming up with David Goggins. Goggins has a history of training UFC fighters, having done so with Tony Ferguson. And while Goggins helped Ferguson, the latter was not able to beat Paddy Pimblett. Adesanya has also indicated his desire to train with other champions.

The first one was Pereira, who is coming off a loss against Magomed Ankalaev, as he lost his light heavyweight belt. However, Alex has shown that he can compete at the highest level, having become a two-weight champion. Now, Izzy has indicated that he would be open to training with the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones. While those steps are admirable, will it help him?

“Definitely, it’s on the list [training with Jones]. With Jon, I know I could learn a lot. Long guy, his frame, I’ve watched him since UFC 92. The way he moves, I can pick his brain on some stuff. So yeah, definitely, it’ll happen. But um, time,” Jones said

This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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