Israel Adesanya after UFC 305 loss: ‘Enjoy me while I’m here, because you’ll miss me when I’m gone’
August 19, 2024 2:50 pm ET
PERTH, Australia ā Israel Adesanya is āhappyā with his efforts in the UFC 305 main event against Dricus Du Plessis, even if he didnāt walk away the winner.
Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) returned from a career-long 11-month layoff on Saturday and saw his ambitions of becoming a three-time middleweight champion squashed by Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the form of a fourth-round submission loss at RAC Arena.
When Adesanya took his gloves off in the octagon after the fight, there was rapid speculation he was retiring. He quickly shut down that notion quickly, and has made it clear he still thinks thereās more fight left in him.
He entered the event with full confidence heād come out the winner, but Du Plessis proved otherwise. That puts the 35-year-old former champion in a tricky position, but Adesanya remains optimistic that while he couldnāt get the win, there is still aspirations for future success in his decorated career.
āIt just takes a little work internally to let go of the result,ā Adesanya told MMA Junkie at the UFC 305 post-fight news conference. āLast time, I lost my fight in the worst fashion (against Sean Strickland). This is my first time being submitted. ā¦ That last one was just something I wasnāt happy with. This one, Iām happy with the way I performed, just not happy with the result. But I wasnāt holding onto the result. I was just worried about displaying the work weāve done. I felt like I did that.ā
MMA is a never-ending journey of growth and evolution. Adesanya is embracing that philosophy, and knows that, even at 35 and with more than 110 combat sports bout, he can still improve.
Adesanya said pre-fight that he intends to compete less frequently going forward than the breakneck rate of competition that defined the majority of his career. He doesnāt know when or against whom he will fight next, but whenever he returns, he hopes it will be appreciated.
āYouāll see me again when you see me again,ā Adesanya said. āIām not like, āI need to fight for the belt againā ā none of that. Iām just doing me. I just want to keep getting better. I want to get better at my grappling. I can grapple, as you can see. ā¦ You guys donāt know my (full) skill set, but Iām going to get better. Even my striking, Iām going to get better at that again. So when you see, me youāll see me. Itās not going to be like youāll see me in three months like you normally do. Youāll see me when you see me again, so enjoy me while Iām here, because youāll miss me when Iām gone.ā
In the meantime, Adesanya said he intends to āresetā with a small layoff that will include spending time with his team and family, traveling to Nigeria and South Africa, then areturn to training in anticipation of whatever may be next.
āWeāve already got some (BBQ) set aside and Iām going to sit with the team and enjoy that and weāll be at the afterparty,ā Adesanya said. āMight sink some piss tonight to take the pain away. Iāll go to Nigeria and chop some Suya, touch ground with my people, reset myself, and when Iām back in New Zealand, Iām back in the gym, back on the plan ā the offseason plan to keep working, because Iām not f*cking leaving. I feel amazing. Iām not losing this body. Iām not losing these gains. I feel amazing.
āYouāll see me at middleweight, and whoever I fight here ā I donāt even know who Iām going to fight next. I havenāt really thought that far. But weāll see.ā
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkieās event hub for UFC 305.
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