Israel Adesanya says the last three years of his career felt like a slog, and he’s finally ready to admit it out loud.
Speaking on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast, the former two-time UFC middleweight champion said competing had stopped being enjoyable during his recent slide. “The last three years have just not been fun. I’ve been lost, so I’ve been found again,” Adesanya said. He framed the comeback as something he’d rather prove than promote. “You know me, I speak from the heart,” he said, adding that fans will see the difference when he’s back in there.
He also confirmed the paperwork is done. “We just signed the contract yesterday,” Adesanya told Johnson. He didn’t name the opponent, but he did make a promise that sounded a lot like the old Stylebender: “There will be blood in the sand, and it won’t be me.”
Where Adesanya stands
The numbers are rough for a man who once ruled 185 pounds. Adesanya is on the first four-fight losing streak of his career, and he knows exactly how that looks. “It’s easy to talk because I’ve lost my last four, but it’s all good,” he said.
His most recent outing was a second-round knockout loss to Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle earlier this year. He hasn’t won since April 2023, when he knocked out Alex Pereira in their rematch to reclaim the middleweight title. That night in Miami feels like a long time ago now.
The “blood in the sand” line isn’t random. MMA Mania reported that Adesanya has been linked to a main-event fight with Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Dec. 6, 2026, and the outlet confirmed that’s the matchup the UFC wants to book. The event itself has a cloud over it, with uncertainty tied to the dangerous climate in the region, though UFC CEO Dana White has insisted the promotion still plans to go ahead with the card.
There’s another twist. If the Magomedov fight happens, MMA Mania noted it would be Adesanya’s first UFC fight without City Kickboxing in his corner. That’s the gym that built him, the team behind every title run, and he’d be walking out without them for the first time in the Octagon.
Quick take
I believe him about the fun part, because you could see it. Somewhere in that four-fight skid he stopped fighting like a guy who loved getting in there, and the Pyfer knockout looked like the end of something. A new corner and a striker like Magomedov, who will stand in front of him and trade, is a far better reset than another grinder. If Adesanya’s legs and timing are really back, Dec. 6 in Saudi Arabia is where we find out, assuming the card survives that long.
