Former undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has vowed to bring back his “vicious” jab with him to the Octagon in his return to the UFC later this year – dismissing question marks from fans and viewers of his apparent lack of action and excitement whilst fighting.
Adesanya, a former two-time titleholder at the 185lbs limit, has been sidelined since last September, headlining UFC 293.
Setting an unwanted record of suffering a second championship loss in the space of a calendar year, City Kickboxing striker, Adesanya dropped his title in a stunning upset loss to American challenger, Sean Strickland, which came less than a year after his knockout loss to arch-rival, Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden.
However, eyeing a comeback fight in the coming months, Adesanya boldly claimed that the promotion had floated a UFC 300 headliner for him in a title charge against middleweight gold holder, Dricus du Plessis, however, explained how the South African rejected the bout.
Israel Adesanya defends his striking style
Hoping to still score an impending return to active competition, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya vowed to bring an apparent “vicious” jabbing technique back to the Octagon in tow, before describing himself as a “highlight” fighter in defense of recent criticizm from fans.
“There’s still more that I wanna do for myself,” Israel Adesanya told Theo Von during a recent interview. “I haven’t mastered the game yet. I’m still learning. Even right now, we’re working again on my jab. I’m changing it up now because there’s so much footage on me people can watch. …Like, my question mark kick was f*cking everyone up, early on. But it got to like – maybe after the Robert Whittaker fight, maybe the (Yoel) Romero fight, no – (Paulo) Costa fight – from that fight, people kind of know the question mark is coming.”
“My jab was vicious – it still is,” Israel Adesanya explained. “But I’m just bringing it back. I’m tuning it up again. So, it’s constant evolution, constant learning, every time. And my grappling as well, I do wanna show it off. F*ck the belts, and all that, it’s more highlights. For me, I’m a highlight guy.” (H/T MMA News)
Do you think Israel Adesanya fights Dricus du Plessis in his UFC return?