“I’m just going to enjoy myself. I work hard and play hard.” Those words of reassurance come from Israel Adesanya, the former two-time middleweight champion, as he talks himself through a tough moment. It’s hard to believe he’s faced such a steep fall from grace. But here we have ‘The Last Stylebender’ facing one, and bouncing back is going to take a lot more than just training hard.

Watching the Nigerian native’s run in the middleweight division was quite a treat for all of us. He had this amazing flair and skill that made every match a real spectacle. But, sadly, it seems like his once-dominant championship journey is taking a downturn. The last couple of years haven’t really gone his way, and things went from bad to worse when Nassourdine Imavov knocked him out at UFC Saudi Arabia this February. 

So, what’s really going on? There are a lot of factors that could be contributing to this big decline. For starters, you’d think that focusing on fights wouldn’t be such a problem for Israel Adesanya. But after that tough loss in his last match, UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten has some insight. He believes that, aside from the technical side of things, Adesanya might be struggling with attention issues. 

Rutten on Buiten De Kooi podcast, said, “I always think it like a temporary focus loss or something, because, he’s so locked in with everything and sometimes he gets hit and at the moment you go like how come he didn’t see that? That could be a moment of not focusing. That’s all it needs, that’s mixed martial arts. If you can think about it, there are many ways you can win a fight and that automatically means there are many ways to lose a fight. You make one mistake, you leave one arm out whatever it is, you leave it too low, you get hit. But, yeah I don’t know, he’s one of those guys like the K1 guys. He will come back and knocks the next guy out again.”

The UFC Hall of Famer really nailed this analysis. If you’ve been keeping an eye on his fights, you might have noticed a recurring issue, he tends to switch stances pretty abruptly when he’s up against the cage. Remember that fight where Sean Strickland caught Adesanya with a straight right? That moment was a perfect example, happening right when he was switching stances. And don’t even get me started on how Imavov just sent him to oblivion. Is it a focus issue or a technical issue? Maybe both? 

It’s going to be fascinating to see how a seasoned champion like Israel Adesanya adapts his game to tackle the bigger challenges in the middleweight division. Sure, he lost his last fight, and it was a fair defeat, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost his credibility as a fighter. The Nigerian native still has plenty of exciting matchups ahead of him. Interestingly, there’s a recent fight night main event winner who’s expressed a real interest in going up against him over former champ Robert Whittaker.

Roman Dolidze is more interested in fighting Israel Adesanya than Robert Whittaker

Roman Dolidze pulled off an incredible victory against Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night 254. Considering Vettori is a former title challenger who has gone toe-to-toe with Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya twice, it’s a huge victory for him. Dolidze’s performance has everyone buzzing, and it’s clear that his stocks are rising in the UFC.

The Georgian is eager for an opportunity to face a former middleweight champion, a match that would fuel his hunger for title aspirations. He’s had some exchanges with Whittaker in the past, but ultimately, the Caucasian fighter believes that adding ‘The Last Stylebender’ to his resume would be a significant milestone in his career.

During an interview with Home of Fight, Dolidze said, “He was more dominant at 185. He was beating everybody, including Whittaker. He’s a great fighter. No matter what stage in his career he is now, but we need to respect what he have done. And I like this matchup much more than Whittaker. But let’s see what UFC has prepared for me. And as always, I am always ready for anything and anybody, just give me the name.” What do you think? Will Adesanya come back strong or will the nightmare continue to haunt him?