After dropping the middleweight title in 2023 and failing to reclaim it in 2024, the former 2-time UFC champion Israel Adesanya was on the receiving end of a knockout blow in his only fight in 2025 so far. Nassourdine Imavov proved his credibility as a threat to Dricus du Plessis’ title by finishing ‘The Last Stylebender’ in the very second round of their fight at UFC Saudi Arabia. It was indeed the first time that someone handed a second-round defeat to Adesanya in his entire MMA career.

After that lopsided outing, the Nigerian-born New Zealand national decided to step out of the fighting environment and enjoy his life, which he believes was the most important aspect of life. His coach also weighed in on Adesanya’s current hiatus, claiming that the decision to come back to training is “completely up to him.” The fact that Eugene Baremen appears clueless about the former champ’s future has only added to the speculations about whether the loss against Nassourdine Imavov was a tough one. Well, it seems like Israel Adesanya is in a great place.

So, the former 2-time champion recently joined Sean O’Malley for a training session as ‘Suga’ gears up for his rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316. It looks like both of them have some vivid conversations, as the former bantamweight champion’s coach, Tim Welch, shared an update about the current status of Israel Adesanya. According to him, ‘Izzy’ is in great spirits and has made amends for his defeat against Imavov, claiming that he did everything he could during the preparation, and it was just a classic case of the better man coming out on top that night.

“He just seems so at peace… He doesn’t, like, have a chip on his shoulder, he wasn’t making excuses for Imavov, and it just stuck out to him,” Sean O’Malley’s coach told ESPN MMA. “He’s at peace with the Imavov fight because, just like he said, he checked all the boxes. He did everything he needed to do to try to win that fight. And when you do that, whatever’s going to happen is going to happen… he just had a champion mindset.”

So, yeah, there are no excuses and no plans for retirement on Israel Adesanya’s behalf. Also, the former champ has already made it clear that he’s gunning for a rematch against the contender who handed him an upset loss, Sean Strickland, who was the first one calling for the rematch. Here’s what he had to say.

Israel Adesanya is open to the Sean Strickland rematch ‘whenever he wants’

Israel Adesanya, in his hiatus, has decided to help out his teammates. From Navajo Stirling to Kai Kara-France, who’s got a date with Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight strap at UFC 317, ‘Izzy’ has decided to support them, to help them shine in their fights while he waits to make his return. Additionally, he also weighed in on the potential rematch between him and Sean Strickland, and he’s down for it and is waiting for his rival to come out and speak about it.

The middleweight title scene is currently packed, with Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov waiting in line as Dricus du Plessis defends his title soon against Khamzat Chimaev. As such, Adesanya claims the whole scene of the division could change in the coming months, but ‘The Last Stylebender’ is pretty interested to see how things pan out.

“So yeah, helping the boys do their thing, being there supporting this guy (Kai Kara France) become champ. Watching Navajo [Stirling] rise up the ranks, ‘The Bear’ on his way up, all the boys,” Israel Adesanya stated in the ‘Oh Yeah’ podcast. “So yeah, whenever he [Strickland] wants to fight, I’m ready. But, again, there is a little bit of movement in the division. Let them keep moving and we’ll see when it settles down.”

Israel Adesanya is 35 years old, yes, but he has given no indication or made any statements like Conor McGregor that have shown that he’s done with fighting. He still claims to have the passion and is already open to taking on top contenders, like Sean Strickland, even when he’s on a losing skid. It remains to be seen how Adesanya’s comeback turns out when he makes his way back inside the Octagon. Let us know your thoughts below.