It\u2019s been over a year since Israel Adesanya last stepped into the UFC Octagon.<\/p>\n
On his rise to Middleweight gold, \u201cStylebender\u201d 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Since losing his title to Sean Strickland, however, Adesanya\u2019s career has slowed. He fought just once in both 2024 and 2025 with his most recent appearance being a second-round knockout loss<\/a> to top contender Nassourdine Imavov last February. Since then, Adesanya has been on the sidelines, though the Kiwi kickboxer isn\u2019t overly upset about his layoff.<\/p>\n \u201cA year without fighting. I\u2019ve never done that before in this game,\u201d Adesanya said on his YouTube page (via MMA Fighting<\/a>). \u201cSo this is new territory, uncharted territory, and it\u2019s exciting \u2026 I came back home, and I was just back into the regular flow of things. There was no inkling like, \u2018I need to fight again. I need to fight soon.\u2019 I was just like, nah, I\u2019m going to chill for a bit. I wasn\u2019t hurt from the fight itself. I just took the time to just do me.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019ve never done one of those, so that would have been exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. Allen was filling in for Anthony Hernandez that night, but \u201cStylebender\u201d revealed he too received the call to step in for \u201cFluffy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRDR. On five weeks\u2019 notice, six weeks\u2019 notice,\u201d Adesanya explained. \u201cI was already training, so I was getting ready for a fight. So it would have been like, \u2018Right, I\u2019ve never done this before. You\u2019re fit. Hop in there.\u2019 But then that moment got taken away from me. But that\u2019s, in hindsight, the best thing. Even though I wasn\u2019t happy with it then, it was the best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n