Israel Adesanya vows to silence doubters against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia: "I still feel like I am the best"

Israel Adesanya has not entered the octagon since last August when he challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305, suffering a fourth-round submission loss. 'The Last Stylebender' is set to make his return this weekend as he faces Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Fight Night 250.

Adesanya recently shared that he plans to silence his doubters in his upcoming bout during his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, stating:

"I don't need anything really from this game. It's just what I want to do and I want to compete at the highest level because I still feel like I am the best and I'll prove that. Again, I'm quietly confident with my skills and the work I've put in for this fight so I can't wait to just go in there and just do the work and then people are going to be on my d**k again, like, 'oh my god, he's this, he's that, he's amazing' because that's the game we're in."

Adesanya continued:

"You have one loss and, 'oh, he should retire, he's done, he's washed' and then you go in there and smoke someone. And this is not the first time this has happened in the UFC. They said it to me a couple times before in the past. 'Oh no, he's done, he should retire', but I don't listen. I just, again, do what I want to do."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on making a statement this weekend below:

Adesanya is coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his mixed martial arts career. His clash with Imavov will mark his first time competing in a non-title bout in nearly six years after 12 consecutive title fights.

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Israel Adesanya weighs in on friendship with Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker recently shared photos of them training together before appearing on a podcast with one another.

'The Last Stylebender' weighed in on their newfound friendship during his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, stating:

"I don't know if I would have hit him with a car, but I definitely would have hit him. I'm just happy he pulled up. I'm happy he came through. I'm happy he just shared his energy with the gym, his skills. We're just two chill guys. We sat down in my house and we were doing the breakdown, but it was like we were kind of just chilling... We were just talking s**t, you know?"

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on Robert Whittaker below:

Adesanya added that he has always respected Whittaker as they are on the same journey. He noted that he now has plenty of love for his former opponent and revealed they will work together more in the future.