Israel Adesanya will soon be entering waters that he hasn’t charted in quite a long while. Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) nicknamed “The Last Stylebender”, has not appeared in any card other than a flagship UFC pay-per-view event since the summer of 2018.
On July 6 of that year, during The Ultimate Fighter’s live finale from the Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas, his assignment was Brad Tavares (20-10 MMA, 15-10 UFC), winning by unanimous decision. That fight, much like nearly every contest that Israel Adesanya has had since, was the main event of the evening.
In the aftermath of the fight, he began a run of competing on pay-per-views from November of 2018 until this past August. Most recently, Adesanya fought in the Aug. 17 UFC 305 main event of the evening from Perth, losing his title bid at the hands of Dricus du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) by way of fourth-round submission due to rear-naked choke. Next up for du Plessis: a Feb. 8 rematch versus Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) in one of the must-see title fights in the early part of 2025.
Israel Adesanya Not Sweating Nontitle Affair vs. Nassourdine Imavov
The rematch of the January 2024 bout between Strickland and du Plessis takes place seven days after Israel Adesanya’s first main event tilt of the new year. When the UFC begins its schedule of events for the year’s shortest month, it’ll do so in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The ANB Arena will serve as the host venue for UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ inside the United States. Barring any postponements occurring within the next month or so, that evening’s card will feature 12 fights, including three fights in a row at middleweight to top the bill.
Israel Adesanya VS. Nassourdine Imavov is scheduled for UFC Fight Night on February 1st!#MMA #UFC #UFCSAUDIARABIA pic.twitter.com/jZVfxytBAU
— MMA News (@mmanewsig) December 15, 2024
Adesanya will make his return to the UFC Fight Night signature for the first time since 2018 when he squares off against Nassourdine Imavov (15-4, 1 NC MMA, 7-2, 1 NC UFC) during the headliner. If his recent comments on YouTube are any indication, he isn’t upset about having to appear in a nontitle affair.
“No, not at all,” Israel Adesanya began, when asked about battling on a UFC Fight Night. “Someone said that to me yesterday, and I was like ‘No. I still get paid.’ I still get paid. I still have a referee, it’s [the] two of us in there. There’s a crowd, so it’s not like in the (censored) [UFC] Apex or something. It doesn’t feel any different. I think people are making it out to be something that– how they would react to it, but they’re not in my shoes.”
Israel Adesanya Eager to Rebound on Feb. 1
Heading into the fight in Riyadh on the first night of February, Israel Adesanya sports a mark of 2-3 over his last five appearances inside the famed Octagon, but he’s on a two-fight losing streak of late.
Before the contest against du Plessis this past summer, Adesanya suffered a unanimous decision defeat to the aforementioned Sean Strickland on Sept. 9, 2023 during the UFC 293 main event from Sydney, New South Wales at Qudos Bank Arena.
In the same YouTube interview, Adesanya was asked why he keeps competing in MMA’s top promotion.
“Why am I still fighting?,” he pondered. “Because I can and I’m really, really, really good at it. I almost forgot how great I was… so, for me, I’m like ‘(Expletive deleted), I’m really good at this.'”
Final Thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s Return in February
By the time that the cage door shuts in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1, roughly five and a half months will have passed since Israel Adesanya suffered defeat on pay-per-view. Even though the stakes are not going to be quite as high, a fight featuring “The Last Stylebender” is always a must-see affair.
