Israel Adesanya is taking a break from competition.
The former UFC middleweight champion certainly earned it. In an era where most top fighters pick and choose their appearances, “The Last Stylebender” has competed a whopping nine times since defeating Robert Whittaker to capture the crown at UFC 243 back in late 2019.
A well-rested Adesanya, 34, could come back better than ever after coughing up his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Or the former kickboxing star could find himself struggling to keep up with the new breed of UFC middleweights, according to fast-rising 185-pound contender Brendan Allen.
“Good for him, but it’s never easy to come back after a long layoff,” Allen told ESPN. “Things just evolve so fast, the guys get better, the top changes with these guys that are evolving so fast and that are young and hungry and he’s really gonna have to come back a whole new guy depending on how long he stays out. He’ll have to come back a whole new guy to even compete at the top. It’s just crazy how fast everything evolves and how good guys get in such short periods of time.”
Allen, 27, improved to 23-5 with his submission victory over Paul Craig at the UFC Vegas 82 event earlier this month in Las Vegas, his sixth straight win and fifth submission during that torrid run. The victory was enough to push “All In” to No. 8 in the official middleweight rankings (see them here).
“I think next for me is Robert Whittaker or Jared Cannonier,” Allen continued. “I think those are the two names that make sense. I think winning over them, even finishing over them, gets me a title shot. That’s what we need. New guys, new blood. All these guys up there have already fought each other, we need somebody new. I’m that new guy, I’m that young guy. I bring something different to the table … with my style, my age, my resume … I think I’m the guy to shake up everything. I think those two names are realistic for me. I’m ready.”
Allen is ready … Whittaker is not.