Israel Adesanya hasn’t fought in a hot minute since his 3-fight losing skid. With fight pundits arguing his best years are behind him, and even retirement rumors swirling in the UFC fandom, ‘Izzy’s vigor has become a thing of the past. Or so it seemed until Colby Covington threw down the gauntlet at the middleweight.

Reigniting talks of ‘Izzy’s comeback, Covington himself is looking for second chances to pick up his UFC career. While Adesanya has left the hype in limbo, he has some good news revolving around him for his dedicated fanbase.

Israel Adesanya sets date for a potential UFC return

Online sources claim that Adesanya is set to make his anticipated return to the Octagon against Joe Pyfer in UFC 327, scheduled for April 11, in Miami, Florida. While UFC hasn’t confirmed a bout between the middleweights yet, if the claims are true, the matchup is set to send the MMA community into a frenzy.

Number 15-ranked Joe Pyfer might not be the biggest name in the division; however, he is quickly rising as a top threat to other MW contenders. With 3 back-to-back dominant wins, Pyfer flashes a UFC record of 6-1. Moreover, with 9 KO finishes in his MMA career, Pyfer is known for his heavy hands and knockout power, although he is also well-versed in submissions.

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While the matchup isn’t set in stone at the moment, it presents another comeback opportunity for the former middleweight champion with Colby Covington waiting in line. Himself being on a similar devastating stretch as Adesanya, ‘Chaos’ last found himself on the winning column back in 2022. However, with his latest wrestling feat against Luke Rockhold in RAF 5, Covington has found himself with newfound confidence against bigger opponents like ‘Izzy’.

“Someone like Israel Adesanya intrigues me. A former champion like myself, someone who generates hype, has a following, has a platform and a brand. So I think the Izzy fight makes a lot more sense than anything, and he’s someone I don’t really like,” Covington stated while calling out Adesanya.

While a bout against Israel Adesanya won’t be a walk in the park, even as his losses pile up, ‘Chaos’ is never one to shy away from challenges, with him putting MMA greats like GSP on his RAF dream list. However, even as new threats and challengers pop up in Israel Adesanya’s UFC comeback picture, ‘Izzy’ has a different approach to his final MMA stretch.

Israel Adesanya shifts his attention from UFC belts

Adesanya’s absence from the UFC has created a void in the MW division of the promotion. While Adesanya would initially explain his position of experimenting with his UFC career and not completely retiring from it, he quickly found his take to be too nuanced to wrap up neatly.

“But now, I just go, ‘Yeah, I’m retired,’ until they see me on the poster,” Adesanya shared with Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA. “For me, it’s not about belts anymore – I’ve got two shiny belts at home. It looks good, but I just wanna fight. I just wanna do things like I did on my way to the belt,” he added, as he reminisced about his early UFC days.

For ‘The Last Stylebender’, fights don’t just mean another call to grind for the division gold. But rather, it presents an opportunity to bend combat styles and have fun inside the Octagon, as his UFC moniker would suggest. Whether Adesanya entertains his dedicated fanbase against Joe Pyfer or takes on Covington’s cold threat, he is sure to enter the cage in vogue.

Who would you like to see Israel Adesanya make his UFC comeback against? Should he take on the next generation of middleweights in Pyfer? Or settle his accounts with Covington? Comment below.