Israel Adesanya has only been out of the octagon slight more than 11 months ahead of UFC 305 , but for him, it has felt like an eternity. After spending more than 13 years competing at a near-unfathomable pace between kickboxing, boxing and MMA, Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) finally made a conscious decision to step away after losing the middleweight title to Sean Strickland in a stunning upset at UFC 293 in September 2023. The hiatus has been beneficial for Adesanya. He has gone through his process, and while in the shadows has upgraded his mental and especially physical game to turn himself into “a weapon.” Adesanya’s passion has seemingly been re-stoked as he enters his Aug. 17 headliner with Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), which takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia ( ESPN+ pay-per-view , ESPN, ESPN+). He is champing at the bit to fight, and the only thing he doesn’t enjoy is the wait and all the promotional requirements before he can finally set foot back in the octagon.
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