Israel Adesanya‘s next outing may well determine the course of the rest of his career. After all, the former middleweight champion turns 36 this year, and his kickboxing fighting style depends on split-second decisions, lightning quickness, and world-class athleticism. None of which tends to age well.

Some feel that ‘Izzy’s UFC Saudi Arabia clash against #5 ranked Nassourdine Imavov may be the last best chance for Adesanya to get to a title shot. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has lost two in a row, and a defeat to the largely unknown Frenchman would lead to the Kiwi-Nigerian sliding down the division.

And more importantly, it would almost definitely lead to chatter he is old, washed up, and past his prime as happens to even the very best. Moreover, with Imavov’s grappling-heavy style of fighting, the fight will be a tough one for ‘Izzy’. However, Adesanya’s former rival, Robert Whittaker has some good news for the Yoruba’s fans.

“It is so hard for me to bet against Adesanya in about any matchup. The way he [Adesanya] utilizes his counters, his aggressive fighting, his pressure with his length, and his faints make it very make him very hard to take down. And if you’re not taking him down, you’re having like a long night in the office, okay,” Whittaker declared in a recent video on MMArcade’s YouTube channel.

In fact, ‘Bobby Knuckles’ feels that Adesanya will probably prove too good for Imavov, even if the version of ‘Izzy’ who lost to Dricus Du Plessis last year shows up in Saudi Arabia.

“Now, understandably he lost against Dricus last fight, but I think he turned up phenomenally for that fight. I think his striking was on point… It’s just that DDP is tough as sh*t. If Adesanya uses his spacing and timing, he’ll beat Imavov… He’s [Dricus Du Plessis is] got such a unique style so I don’t think it’s too much of a negative for Adesanya if we see that Adesanya turn up against Imavov. I think it’s going to be a good night for him [Adesanya] in the office, but yeah, Imavov’s grappling is very good,” he added.

Of course, ‘Izzy’ submitted to the reigning South African in their  UFC 305 clash last year. So why does Whittaker think even that version of ‘Izzy’ beats Du Plessis? Well, let’s take a look.

Israel Adesanya’s stupendous showing

Adesanya may have lost to Dricus Du Plessis in their UFC 305 clash last year, but he did look pretty good. He had been dominating the very round he lost in, virtually piecing up the South African and looking like his old self. But Du Plessis, as Whittaker pointed out, is just special and managed to take ‘Izzy’ to the ground and submit him.

It is hard to think of someone else being able to do that except for ‘DDP’ with his legendary strength and relentlessness. Maybe Khamzat Chimaev could do this since he is also pretty strong, but no one else. But ‘The Reaper’ does seem justified in claiming that even the UFC 305 version of Adesanya would be enough to beat Imavov.

What happens if he does? Well, ‘Izzy’ will probably find himself back in title contention. At most, he will be one fight away from another title shot and bringing balance back to the force. After all, it almost feels wrong that Israel Adesanya is not the champion anymore. Moreover, to compete in a non-title affair for the first time since February 2019 will be a tough mental battle as well.

And if ‘Izzy’ loses, his road back to a title shot would be a much harder and longer one. With the clock ticking on his career, that’s a situation he wouldn’t want to be in. What do you think about Robert Whittaker’s take on Israel Adesanya’s UFC Saudi Arabia fight?