Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier discuss Israel Adesanya’s surprising return to non-PPV fight for first time since 2018

UFC analysts Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier recently expressed their thoughts on Israel Adesanya being scheduled to feature in a non-pay-per-view event, his first in over six years.

Adesanya is currently slated to lock horns with Nassourdine Imavov at the UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1. This will be the first time 'The Last Stylebender' features on a non-pay-per-view event since his decision win over Brad Tavares at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale in 2018.

Since claiming a shot at undisputed gold at UFC 243 back in 2019, Adesanya has headlined 11 pay-per-views, all being title fights. However, he's amidst a rough patch in his UFC career, going 1-3 in his last four bouts and losing his middleweight title. Moreover, he's coming off back-to-back losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis.

With Adesanya's next fight just days away, Cormier and Sonnen discussed the same in the latest episode of ESPN MMA's Good Guy/Bad Guy podcast. 'DC' highlighted that Adesanya will fight in a non-PPV UFC event after over six years, saying:

"From 2018 or 19, every fight [of Adesanya] has been on PPV. How crazy is [the fact] that Adesanya found himself in such a position [now]?"

Sonnen replied:

"It’s very different from 'Izzy’s' [Adesanya’s] perspective. The media that leads to this [fight], the stakes that are on the line. Israel Adesanya has never fought for less than a world championship."

Check out Cormier and Sonnen's discussion about Adesanya's fight below (3:00):

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Israel Adesanya doesn't feel any different about fighting in a non-PPV UFC event

Israel Adesanya has no hard feelings about being demoted to a non-PPV UFC event despite being one of the biggest stars in the promotion.

Adesanya detailed his thoughts about fighting in a UFC Fight Night event on his YouTube channel, FREESTYLEBENDER. The former middleweight champion said:

"I still get paid. There’s still a referee, it’s two of us in there, there’s a crowd. It’s not like in the f**king Apex or something, so it doesn’t feel any different. I think people are making it out to be something how they would react to it, but they’re not in my shoes. They’re not in my shorts."

Check out Adesanya's comments below (3:40):