Just a week after losing via KO to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia, Israel Adesanya will watch the two men who beat him in his last two title fights, throw down for the strap that was once his. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has shown grace in defeat, appearing on his podcast and reflecting on his loss while not regretting a thing. And like many of his contemporaries, Israel Adesanya is active on social media, especially YouTube with his FREESTYLEBENDER channel. Recently, he got together with a good buddy of his, a fellow fight contemporary to reflect on his loss and analyze the UFC 312 main event.

While having a conversation on his YouTube handle with Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Israel Adesanya was asked about his performance against Nassourdine Imavov, to which the former UFC middleweight champion asserted that he had no regrets, “Awesome, bro. I wouldn’t change a thing about this camp—I felt great. The next fight is even gonna be better. I’m gonna chase the red again, do everything I did, sacrifice, but yeah, just use solitude and everything to fire myself up and fuel myself for this.”

‘Izzy’ ascertained that he might not have achieved success in his clash against Imavov but his next fight will be a good one. Given that, the former champion was asked about his choice of winner for the UFC 312 main event because he fought both Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. In response, Adesanya stated that while ‘Stillknocks’ would win, ‘Tarzan’ would give the champion a run for his money.

“I think, to be honest, it’s gonna be Dricus. You know what he does. Strickland might wrestle a bit, but he is not going to initiate it. If he can have his defense on point, he might be able to defeat Dricus. Yeah, I think Dricus is gonna win. He’s gonna do it the way he does it, which is to be stubborn, try to take him down, and beat Strickland. But if Strickland can stop the takedown, he will be fine,” said Israel Adesanya.

The last time Sean Strickland fought Dricus Du Plessis, it was a close fight, with ‘Stillknocks’ winning the hard-fought bout with his wrestling. But can he replicate that performance? We’ll have to wait and see. And what about Adesanya? Does he desire to beat the last man that beat him? Let’s find out.

Israel Adesanya drops the idea of a rematch against Nassourdine Imavov

The future is uncertain but one thing is certain and that’s the fact that Israel Adesanya will not follow the path of revenge against Nassourdine Imavov. In the same conversation with Micheal ‘Venom’ Page, the former two-time middleweight champion emphasized that he will move on from his loss rather than hold onto it.

“Now, that’s done, easy. Look, [Nassourdine] Imavov beat me. People ask me, ‘You should get a rematch’. Like, nah, I’m good. It’s like, he beat me, fair game. If maybe one day something for the belt happens or whatever, he has the [middleweight] title and then there’s a story there, cool. But right now, I’m like, I don’t need to. He beat me fair game. That’s it, cool, we move on,” said Adesanya.

So, now that Adesanya has dropped the idea of a rematch, what’s next for the former champ? Well, Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho has called out ‘Izzy’ multiple times now and it appears that he might be the next choice of opponent for Adesanya. Regardless, what are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinions in the comments below.