Two-time Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is reportedly back to training after taking some time off from the sport. Izzy has been on a break since losing to Sean Strickland last September. Before the Strickland loss, Adesanya had just regained the middleweight title after defeating arch nemesis Alex Pereira, before shockingly to Strickland.
But that was last year. Now, we are being told that the Nigerian-New Zealander is back from his self-imposed break and is currently in training to get fit and ready for a fight. This news was revealed by his coach, Eugene Bareman, who said that Izzy is ready to take on any opponent as long as a date has been set.
Speaking recently in an interview, Bareman said: “Izzy’s back training, so he’s back in the swing of things. We’re training just in case there’s an eventuality of a fight. We’re getting him fit, and he’s getting ready to take up a potential date should one come up soon.
“He’s basically finished his little hiatus, and he’s ready to come back. So just give us a date, give us an opponent, and we’ll show up ready to go.”
Bareman seems quite confident of what Adesanya can do at this point. He also believes that all the 34-year-old needs is “a couple more months, another month-and-a-half, he’ll be flying. He’ll be back to pre-hiatus kind of level.”
This is the most update we have gotten about Adesanya since September, and it is quite reassuring to hear that he still has the fire burning and will soon be on the lookout for potential opponents. The middleweight division still needs the presence of someone like Adesanya for a few years to come. No current fighter in the division brings as much hype, drama, and action to the table as he does.
One can argue that his last few fights have not been quite exciting to watch compared to years ago, but we cannot deny that seeing Adesanya on a fight card will generate quite the hype compared to the current fighters in the division.
In the coming months, we expect to hear a lot more about his activities and know, for sure, when he is coming back to the ring, who his next opponent might be, and if he is aiming for the middleweight title for a third time.
Leon Osamor
