Israel Adesanya‘s team confirms he is adopting ‘drastic’ training methods as The Last Stylebender bids to keep his MMA credentials alive after losing 75% of his fights since November 2022.
Defeats to Alex Pereria, Sean Strickland and most recently to Dricus du Plessis in August 2024 have people questioning whether the 35-year-old has what it takes to continue to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
And the chatter around his future appears to have reached the Nigerian and his team as his coach, Eugene Bareman, reveals he is going to the extremes to make sure he can stage a comeback at UFC Fight Night 250.
“There are a few things I’m doing quite differently with Izzy [Adesanya] for this fight,” Bareman said to CombatTV. “They’re a lot more drastic than what I’m usually accustomed to doing.
“I like to take things very steady but, based on past performances, I thought we needed to flip things on its head a bit.”
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Since taking his 23rd win against Jared Cannonier in July 2022, he has lost the belts twice. Firstly to Pereira via TKO before regaining the title and avenging the defeat at UFC 287. He then lost a unanimous decision to Sean Strickland, before submitting to South Africa’s Du Plessis.
He has also found himself struck with legal issues in the time since the defeat to Pereira. Days later he was arrested at JFK airport in New York for possession of brass knuckles, before being charged with drunk driving in August 2023 in New Zealand.
He then followed that up by being forced to apologize for spreading ‘misinformation’ about Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the 2024 Olympic Games and in September 2024, he was caught in a road rage incident in New Zealand during which he spat at a citizen but alleged he was racially abused.
Adesanya will take on Nassourdine Imavov on February 1, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as he looks to rebuild his tattered reputation in the middleweight category following his recent loss of form.