One of the mos͏t͏ compelling rivalries in modern MMA ͏is the one between Alex ͏Pereira͏ and Israel Adesanya. Their history ͏da͏tes back to their kickboxing days, an͏d͏ they’ve been facin͏g͏ off for nearly ͏a decade. Almost everyone who follows the athletes knows how they are 1-1 in the UFC and 3-1 in Pereira’s favor. But there was one instance where a loss to ‘Poatan’ left Adesanya broke and in tears with his future hanging in the balance.

While having a conversation with Joe Rogan on ‘JRE MMA Show #164,’ Israel Adesanya opened up a rather unknown chapter of his life from his early kickboxing days. The former middleweight champion confessed that after the initial bout against Pereira, he was abandoned by his promotion as no one wanted to watch him fight. ‘Stylebender’ stated that when he lost his fight against Alex Pereira, people nearly forgot about him.

“When I was fighting in China and I lost to Alex, they stopped giving me fights. I think, at the time, I was the highest-paid foreign fighter in China, but then they stopped giving me fights. I was like, ‘Look, I have seven more fights on my contract. Can I at least just get three? I just need three,’ because money was running out. You know, the money I had saved up. Yeah, I was down to my last, one day, like $500,” said Adesanya.

The former middleweight champion added that his friend Eugene (possibly referring to his coach Eugene Bareman) assured him that he would do something for him, “Don’t worry, leave it with me.” Later, while at home, he received a message from Eugene saying, “Check your bank account.” He sat there, stunned, tears welling up as he realized that his friend had sent some money over to him.

Years have passed since that incident and Israel Adesanya is one of the richest MMA fighters with multiple businesses behind his back to support him. However, after his last defeat against Dricus Du Plessis, is he in similar waters again?

Israel Adesanya reveals the ideal gameplan as well as the date for his return

Israel Adesanya is probably one of the most well-known fighters across the world in addition to being one of the best middleweight fighters. But his career has been going a bit downhill, riding a two-fight losing streak against Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. After his last defeat, the Kiwi fighter was asked about his gameplan for his future to which Adesanya said that he would like to take it a bit slow now.

“Even though I don’t have the belt, they still got my name in their mouth. I’m still Israel Adesanya. For me, I’ll let them call me out, or whatever. At the moment, I want to fight one more time before the end of this year, or early next year. But I don’t know yet. I’m just training, building off where we left off, and I’ll get the call at some point with a few options. I’m sure Dana [White] will hit me up at some point,” said Adesanya.

It must be noted that Israel Adesanya was one of the most active champions during his time and he is the only UFC fighter to have ever defeated Alex Pereira inside the Octagon. His activity may also be his undoing. The Kiwi was starting to lap his division before Pereira entered the scene. Yes, he has losses to avenge but those are against Strickland and Du Plessis. The former is insisting on a title rematch and the champion will likely oblige. Where does that leave Adesanya?

‘Izzy’ will likely get a top 5 opponent like Nassourdine Imavov or Caio Borralho next. He might even face the winner (or loser) of the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker bout set for UFC 308. His era as a champion was interesting but we might be getting an even more action-packed era of ‘contender Izzy’ next. Regardless, what’s your take on ‘Stylebender’s career? State your thoughts in the comments below.