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Israel Adesanya is far from pleased with his activity in 2021. The middleweight kingpin wants to put things right by fighting at least three times this year.
'The Last Stylebender' unsuccessfully challenged Jan Blachowicz for the 205 lbs strap last year before defeating Marvin Vettori in a bout that failed to live up to expectations.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Adesanya called 2021 "the most lackluster year" of his UFC career. He then touched on some of his plans for 2022. The Kiwi said:
"I want to get three this year, at least. At least three fights this year. I'm not happy. Last year was, to be honest, the most lackluster year in my UFC career, I feel. Like it was just two fights. I went up to light heavyweight and failed that side mission. Then I defended my belt at middleweight."
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Watch Israel Adesanya's interview with Brett Okamoto below:
Israel Adesanya reveals he got "bored" in fight against Marvin Vettori
Israel Adesanya defended the middleweight crown in a rematch against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. The first encounter between the two resulted in a narrow split-decision win for Adesanya. The Nigerian-born New Zealander coasted to a comfortable victory in their second meeting.
In the same interview, 'The Last Stylebender' revealed that he was "bored" during his fight with Vettori, claiming the Italian was just trying to survive. Adesanya added that one of his coaches had to remind him to keep his guard up. He said:
"There was a point in that fight where I got bored. My coach was even, 'Don't get bored, Izzy. Stay in it.' I remember he said that and I was like, 'Oh, yeah, true.' He could notice. He noticed... I don't know what he saw but he just noticed I switched off. I was like, 'Man, this isn't fun anymore.' He wasn't trying to win. He was trying to survive. So, I was like, 'Well, I'm the one with the belt, you know. You're being super defensive so yeah.' But let's not give him too much time because he'll tweet about this for the next week and a half."
Watch the Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori fight below:
Israel Adesanya will look to defend the 185 lbs belt in a rematch against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 in Houston, Texas, this weekend. The duo squared off for the first time at UFC 243 in 2019, when Adesanya secured a second-round KO victory.
If the 32-year-old can defeat his rival for a second time, he'll move clear of Chris Weidman (three) with four successful title defenses, behind only Anderson Silva (ten).
