Israel Adesanya shares final verdict on another potential title shot ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia: "It's going to spin the block"

Israel Adesanya is gearing up for a pivotal bout against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia this weekend. This bout marks Adesanya's first non-title fight in over five years, and it'll be the first time he's coming off back-to-back losses.

Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland in 2023 before coming up short against Dricus du Plessis, and he's 1-3 in his last four fights. In a recent interview with ESPN, Adesanya reiterated his previous statement about not actively pursuing the belt, but rather, the belt will seek him out due to his presence in the sport.

'The Last Stylebender' said:

"It's [the championship] always there. Like, I'm Israel.... It's always going to be in the, it's going to spin the block... It's always going to be in the orbit.”

He added:

“I'm not looking at it. I never looked at it. Even when I came to the UFC, I said the belt's a fancy crown, but it's going to sit on my head, and it did. But now, it's not the main focus. It was just about, again, creating special moments in the octagon, and I'll keep doing that. And again, you'll be like, 'Whoa, he got the crown again.' But right now, I'm not focused about that. I'm focused on tomorrow night, taking care of Nassourdine Imavov."

Check out Israel Adesanya’s comments below:

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Israel Adesanya discusses training with former foe Robert Whittaker

In a surprising turn of events, former UFC middleweight champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker have set aside their past rivalry to train together ahead of Adesanya's upcoming bout against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia.

Adesanya and Whittaker faced each other twice in the octagon, with the former emerging victorious on both occasions. The Nigerian-born Kiwi claimed the undisputed title via TKO in 2019, and their rematch in 2022 went the distance.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, 'The Last Stylebender' expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating:

"I was excited. I said f*** yeah, he can pull up anytime. I didn't know what day he was coming so I saw him at the gym on a Monday. I was ecstatic. I was hyped. That was a moment for the MMA world, for us in general, just something to feel good about. Everyone liked this."

He further elaborated on the benefits of training with Whittaker:

"Having a guy with his skill set, his experience, a new body, new energy at this stage of your career, it's always nice. Like he said as well, not many people can understand what we've done to get to the point that we had. I was really excited to have him pull up and just share energy with me with the whole team."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below (2:59):