Israel Adesanya gets honest about why he continues fighting, reveals 'manifestation' for UFC Saudi Arabia: "Forgot how great I was"

Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will fight No.5-ranked Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1 next year. This will be the first time the Nigerian-Kiwi fighter will fight in a non-title fight since 2019 and in a non-PPV card since 2018.

Enjoying a meteoric rise in the ranks and winning the title in 2019, Adesanya ultimately lost his title to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in 2022, before regaining it at UFC 287. He lost the title for a second time to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in 2022, failing to regain it in 2024.

Despite going 2-3 in his last five outings, 'The Last Stylebender' is still motivated to win his belt back. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the former 185-pound champion explained the "why" in his insistence to keep fighting (4:32):

"Why am I still fighting? Because I can and I'm really, really good at it. I almost forgot how great I was. But then, recently, I just realized like, f**k... For me, I'm just, like, 'Man, I'm good at this sh*t [laughs]. I forget. Because... Reasons. But it's good to remind yourself. I keep saying, 'Y'all must have forgot'. F**k, I forgot."

When asked what is he manifesting in this upcoming fight, Adesanya said (12:49):

"What am I manifesting? To be honest, nothing, really. I'm just manifesting day-to-day. Like, how am I going to train today. How am I going to get better today. How am I going to get this done today."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below:

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Israel Adesanya on fighting on a Fight Night card for the first time since 2018: "It doesn't feel any different"

As previously said, the last time Israel Adesanya appeared in a Fight Night card was in 2018 at 'The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale' against Brad Tavares. He won the fight via a unanimous decision. Since then he's been fighting in main PPV cards and title fights.

When asked if he's bothered by this perceived demotion on the fight cards, 'The Last Stylebender'said (3:33):

"No. Not at all... I still get paid, you know. I still get paid. There's still a referee. There's two of us in there. There's a crowd. So it's not like in a f**king APEX or something. So 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. They're not in my shorts."