“I told you, the hunter is now the hunted.”, is what Israel Adesanya had declared to Joe Rogan after winning against Alex Pereira at UFC 287. However, now his words might be coming back to bite him as he’s the one walking into UFC Saudi Arabia with a 1-3 record in his last four. After the emphatic win over Alex Pereira, ‘Izzy’ started to have a slump as he lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 and then to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305. But the 24-4-0 fighter seems like he’s taking his fight with Nassourdine Imamov on Saturday quite seriously.

In six years, this will be his first non-pay-per-view and non-title bout against the Dagestani Frenchman at UFC Fight Night 250 on 1st Feb 2025. This is prime opportunity to live up to his words of being the hunter again. A certain UFC veteran known for his succinct revelations is a little concerned for ‘Izzy’ though. ‘The American Gangster’ aka Chael Sonnen doubled down on this scenario of ‘The Last Stylebender’ facing Imavov and was not too thrilled about it. He started his latest video on YouTube by saying that he likes to see good things happen to Israel Adesanya.

He recalled the theatrics that followed his fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.  “We know who’s next. I’ll put him on skates,” said Adesanya after the fight.  This was a clear call out to Pereira who was then making waves in the UFC. Speaking on the same, Sonnen pointed out the wrong move the Nigerian Kiwi fighter made, stating, “When Joe Rogan tried to dance around the subject and bring it up, ‘Well, there’s a guy that fought tonight’, and Adesanya cut him off and he said, ‘Joe who are we kidding? My next fight is going to be against Pereira’. Which, by the way, at that point in time, Izzy probably could have avoided.”

He further added, “He had to do some dancing Pereira was on a pretty good roll. That very night Pereira had just knocked out Sean Strickland. There was; there could be some movements. And Adesanya could have put it off. And the reason I bring that to you is – one thing that is in common – there was something personal about every fight.”

What Sonnen wanted to say is that Izzy always has a personal edge when emotions are attached to his opponents. Despite losing against Pereira the first time they met at UFC 281, he carried the weight of his history into that second MMA fight, and was able to put a stop to the losing streak he had to ‘Poatan’. Emotions played a big role. However, does he have any beef with his latest opponent? We’re wondering because it might help him win the fight.

Israel Adesanya’s goal for the Imavov fight

Nassourdine Imavov is preparing for what could become the illustrative moment in his MMA career, but what about his opponent Israel Adesanya? It is the Nigerian-Kiwi’s non-PPV fight after 6 years which marks a huge departure from the momentum he once carried as a champion or fighter competing in a championship fight. It looks like the former middleweight champion is almost having to start from the bottom again but a win could propel him back into the title conversation.

Israel Adesanya, nonetheless, has cemented his position among the sports elite fighters as the only combatant in the division’s history to seize the 185-lb belt twice. Even at 35, he knows that he has a lot of fuel left in his tank and claims that he is still evolving. During a recent YouTube video where he showed his training session, he spoke about his mindset going into this fight.

He said, “Fighting him and beating him would be a way of just saying like, ‘Yeah, you can’t count me out. No matter what I can still take any of the top guys in this game at any time.” Despite the recent setbacks, he is ready to bounce back with a new vigor. So even though he does not have any personal beef with his opponent at this time, there is a personal story of fighting his way back up from the bottom. Will this emotional catalyst help him win the fight? Share your thoughts in the comments below.