Alexander Volkanovski’s cryptic message hints at imminent Israel Adesanya return post UFC 297 drama

Alexander Volkanovski may have hinted at a return for Israel Adesanya coming sooner than later.

Following the main event of UFC 297, Adesanya released a hype post for a potential matchup with new champion Dricus du Plessis. The three-part slideshow on Instagram showed the two middleweights' history of bad blood between them, along with a highlight reel of Adesanya's title run.

In his caption, Adesanya claimed that their paths are "destined to cross again."

Of those reacting to the post, Adesanya's teammate Alexander Volkanovski appeared to interpret the former champion's message.

Alexander Volkanovski replying to Israel Adesanya's Instagram post [via @stylebender on Instagram]

The post from 'The Last Stylebender' comes just months after surprisingly losing his belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Following the loss, Adesanya claimed to be taking a break in his career, though noted that he was not retiring.

However, with fans creating rumors on social media of Adesanya's potential return headlining UFC 300 in April, the Nigerian's social media activity has increased in recent weeks. Following du Plessis' victory this past weekend, Adesanya has predictably responded to the champion's post-fight callout.

The timeline of the rivalry between Adesanya and du Plessis reached a boiling point at UFC 290 when the two middleweights faced off in the octagon following the latter's knockout of Robert Whittaker.

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Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria revealed as UFC 298 main event atop stacked main card

To no surprise, the featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria was confirmed as the UFC 298 main event last year, and the rest of the pay-per-view main card has now also been officially announced.

The February pay-per-view event slated for Anaheim, California, will feature Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa as the co-headliners, Ian Garry and Geoff Neal in a grudge match, and Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo in what is essentially a No.1 contender's bout at bantamweight.

The event has notably taken a hit, with two fighters pulling out of their respective matchups already, as both Tatiana Suarez and Ikram Aliskerov will no longer be competing on the card.