It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen Israel Adesanya. Following his disappointing loss to Joe Pyfer back in March, there hasn’t been a whole lot of news on when we might expect to see “The Last Stylebender” return.
There was the big news that Adesanya was leaving his longtime home at City Kickboxing, saying it was “a long time coming.” Rumors of a rift between Adesanya and new light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg swirled without any confirmation … but whatever the reason, something clearly
had to change after Israel went 1-5 in his last six.
That change is happening now. On Wednesday, one of Adesanya’s nutritionists posted a video on Instagram showing Izzy doing “a full day of eating in camp.” That’s the first we’ve heard of camp, and now Adesanya has popped up in multiple Instagram videos at Joe Lopez’s Freestyle Fighting Gym in Wollongong, home to Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski is hard at work preparing to face Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in late October. He’s got Mauricio Ruffy out there with him. And now Israel Adesanya is also there. Preparing for a fight? Nothing has been announced, but it seems clear he’s preparing for something.
Adesanya is now 37 years old and has admitted pride is one of the few things keeping him from retiring at this point. Going out on four straight losses would be hard for anyone, let alone a former champion with eight title fight wins. Can Izzy come back and finish strong?
After two straight knockout losses, it’s no certain thing. But it looks like he’s gonna try.
