Israel Adesanya is down but not out, preparing for an immediate return to fighting after previously calling for time off following UFC loss

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya finds himself in unfamiliar territory, having experienced consecutive losses for the first time in his professional MMA career. Adesanya dropped the 185-pound title to Sean Strickland via unanimous decision and later succumbed to a submission loss against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305.

After his loss to Strickland, Adesanya took some time off to bounce back to top form against Du Plessis. Despite the loss to the South African, Adesanya insisted that he was in the best shape for the fight. However, the results were not in his favor, and while Adesanya didn’t hint at retirement, many believed it might be a while before 'The Last Stylebender' would be back in action.

That being said, the 35-year-old now appears eager for a swift return, expressing his desire to fight again before the end of the year or early next year. Speaking about his return in a recent appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, Adesanya said:

"Even though I don't have the belt, they still got my name in their mouth. At the moment, I want to fight one more time before the end of this year or early next year but I don't know yet. I'm just training, building off [from] where we left off, and I'll get the call at some point with a few options. I'm sure Dana [White] would hit me up at some point."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below:

Check out the full episode below:

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Israel Adesanya claims Tom Aspinall is "that guy" while previewing the upcoming Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic clash

The UFC's decision to book Jon Jones' first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 has left a lot of fans in the MMA community puzzled. According to them, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall deserved the fight against 'Bones' despite the UFC's fierce dedication to bringing the Jones vs. Miocic "legacy fight" to fruition.

Israel Adesanya weighed in on the situation in the aforementioned episode of The Adam Carolla Show and said:

"That was the fight [Jones vs. Aspinall] that I was looking forward to. But Dana [White] was hellbent on the Stipe fight. And I'm like, 'Cool, get that done and I guess the winner takes Aspinall.' Or [if] Jon Jones retires... What a great career! But Aspinall is that guy."

Adesanya added:

"I met him in July this year. [He's a] big dude, thick... I think we are the same height but he's taller. But also his speed [shakes head in approval]."