As history has shown, ‘The Last Stylebender’s most dangerous version only emerges when he has a target in mind. Currently on a three-fight losing streak, Israel Adesanya has shown interest in returning to the Octagon with, yet again, vengeance on his mind. And after facing the biggest upset loss in modern UFC history, Adesanya has announced he wants to get one back against Sean Strickland.

In the middle of his meeting with David Goggins, Adesanya revealed he has started to feel like he’s going to fight soon and chose to take Strickland’s name as the New Zealander said: “I told Hunter, I told my coach, ‘it’s time’. I have a feeling who I want to fight… I gotta get some get-backs. Strickland. I’m gonna get him back.” And we all know how things have turned out when ‘Izzy’ has a revenge plan for his fights.

As a champion and even as a contender, whenever Adesanya has been backed into a corner, he has come out of it as the victor. Touching upon this important aspect of the fighter was the UFC legend Chael Sonnen, a former middleweight himself. He gave a good argument as to why we may see a different ‘Izzy’ this time around compared to when Strickland outclassed him in the Nigerian-Kiwi’s biggest loss yet.

Sonnen said, “So it was a very big deal… but to a guy that was six to 1 underdog, came into Australia and got the jump, and Dana wanted to rematch that match right away. Long before you ever heard of who Dricus Du Plessis is, plus he was. They were trying to rematch long before we had Kamaru Usman and Chimaev for a number one contender’s match. Dana was trying to rematch Adesanya and Strickland, and it was ‘Izzy’ that just wasn’t interested. And one thing that ‘Izzy’ has to be to compete, well, is pi–ed off, and he just wasn’t at Sean.”

He continued his insight saying, “Sean wasn’t his enemy. In fact, at that particular time, Dricus Du Plessis was followed by Alex Pereira; Sean just wasn’t on his radar. So ‘Izzy’ was trying to get into the mode and the zone, but it just, things were a little bit off, I don’t know what personally has happened between them, to get to the point where ‘Izzy’ wants this fight. I will just tell you, ‘Izzy’ does not do fights unless they’re personal. So, something has happened between ‘Izzy’ and Strickland. Yeah, and I’m in for it.”

Indeed, Sonnen is right. Out of his three-fight losing streak, the Strickland one surely bothers him the most, and if he manages to get that loss back, then we may just witness ‘The Last Stylebender’ on another title run. But with the current storm inside the UFC’s middleweight division, it’s still not cemented who’s going to fight who.

And of course, Strickland, being Strickland, has put the whole MMA community in unrest yet again. With a rumored head injury he sustained during his sparring, fans may not get to see ‘Izzy’s original revenge plans.

Will Strickland’s head injury put Israel Adesanya’s revenge tour on hold?

While Adesanya’s rematch with Strickland talks was gaining momentum, ‘Tarzan’s head injury has put a dark cloud over their potential fight. Even if the fight is solid, it may be a long wait for us before we see these titans enter the Octagon against each other. So, where does that leave Israel Adesanya? His pedigree tells us a focused Adesanya can fight twice before he gets the Strickland fight. And as the modern middleweight great, Israel Adesanya’s revenge tour can go through bigger opponents with bigger rewards.

If it is revenge that Adesanya wants, he shall get it even if Strickland isn’t available for a fight. In ‘Izzy’s most recent loss, he fell down to probably the most brutal KO he has ever faced. A former two-time 185-pound division champion with a total of eight title fight victories was finished in RD2 against a rising Nassourdine Imavov. After a massive victory, Imavov stands ranked #1 in the division. And what’s better than fighting the rank #2 fighter? Fighting the rank #1 fighter, who ‘Izzy’ also has a score to settle with.

We all remember how ‘The Last Stylebender’ cleared the middleweight division and stood atop the organization. But now, a new generation of fighters have arrived in the UFC, and it’s not just for the 185-pound division; each division is bringing up new contenders and challengers with every fight.  Yet Adesanya, when fully motivated, has beaten the odds almost every time he has fought. Can ‘The Last Stylebender’ do it again? Will he stand toe to toe with the new age of middleweights? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.