Last September, former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya surprised his fans by announcing an unexpected break after losing his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. The disappointing performance prompted Adesanya to declare that he would not return to the Octagon until 2027, leaving many puzzled and concerned about the future of his career.

However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ returned to the Octagon this year at UFC 305 in Australia, facing the reigning champion, Dricus du Plessis, in his 12th consecutive title fight. Fans were puzzled by the sudden change in his plans, but Adesanya recently explained the reason behind his temporary retirement announcement in an interview, dispelling all doubts.

Israel Adesanya discloses the reason behind his temporary retirement announcement

Israel Adesanya isn’t usually known for his humor or joking around, but last year was an exception, as he revealed in a recent interview with Daniel Cormier on Cormier’s YouTube channel. When Cormier asked how Adesanya felt about his ‘crazy’ statement that went viral and became a hot topic in the MMA world, he added, “To have that type of influence in the game must feel good too, though.”

Acknowledging Cormier’s words, ‘The Last Stylebender’ responded, “I guess so, but for me, it just made me realize how silly people are.” Adesanya further explained that he was joking at the time to gauge the reaction of fans and the media. He said, “The internet’s full of stupid people. We buy everything. I was like, that was a joke. I said it to Oscar, I think, sarcastically. Then I saw headlines about it. I was thinking, like ‘Yo, they don’t read the tone.’ So I just let it ride.”

However, Israel Adesanya’s plan to surprise everyone with a victorious return after a year-long break to fight Dricus du Plessis didn’t go as planned. ‘Stillknocks’ handed Adesanya a crushing defeat, defeating him in a way he had never experienced before – by submission.

This made Du Plessis the only fighter to ever submit New Zealander. It was a more disappointing loss than his previous one. Despite this, Adesanya’s coach offered a different viewpoint, claiming that the loss to Du Plessis was easier to accept than the defeat against ‘Tarzan.’ Let’s find out why.

Why did Adesanya’s coach digest the defeat against Du Plessis?

Before UFC 293, no one in the MMA community expected the underdog, Sean Strickland, to defeat fan favorite Israel Adesanya. But after a grueling five rounds, all the fan predictions and odds went wrong. The MMA community was shocked by how Strickland outclassed the former champion dominantly. This fight affected “The Last Stylebender’ more mentally than physically.

Eugene Bareman, Adesanya’s coach, recently appeared on the ‘Who The Fook Are These Guys’ podcast and discussed why the ‘Tarzan’ fight was so difficult to digest compared to ‘Stillknocks’. He explained, “That position, Israel’s done that a thousand times and got out of it a thousand times. What causes that is the opponent putting pressure on you pushes you to a place where you’re fatigued. The Strickland loss, he’ll never get over. You just fought badly, and it was unexplainable.”

Adesanya holds the reputation of being arguably the greatest striker in the promotion. So for him to be dominated on the feet by Strickland was a humbling experience. The American dropped ‘Izzy’ in the first round and nearly finished the fight, but Adesanya survived the onslaught and went the distance.

What are your thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s remark about calling his fans “stupid”? It seems disrespectful, especially considering they supported him during tough times and genuinely care about him. Drop your thoughts in the comments.