“Proud of you champ,” Jon Jones backs Israel Adesanya’s courageous hiatus to protect heart and spirit after loss to Sean Strickland
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya announced a break from MMA after losing to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Since then, he has received support from Jon Jones and others.
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Jon Jones backs Israel Adesanya after Sean Strickland loss (Image via Imago)
Israel Adesanya recently announced that he would step away from MMA. The official announcement came during his appearance on the Rock podcast. The former middleweight champion recently fought at UFC 293 losing the title to Sean Strickland.
The MMA community praised Adesanya’s decision to take a hiatus. Conor McGregor notably tweeted with regards to it. Now the arguable GOAT of MMA, Jon Jones took it to X to offer support for “The Last Stylebender”. Jones tweeted, “Hey @stylebender I just want to let you know I support your decision to take a break from fighting. Taking those last three years off was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Always put YOU first brother. Protect your heart, protect your mind & spirit. Proud of you Champ.”Jones took a three-year exile from MMA before coming back at UFC 285 to win the vacant heavyweight title.
It needs to be noted that Adesanya is not retiring from MMA. He has vowed to come back and get back what he lost. Moreover, he also stressed the importance of maintaining a clean lifestyle now that he was in his mid-30s. With Adesanya stepping back, Kamaru Usman, the former welterweight champion has announced his plans to capture the middleweight title. Usman and Adesanya were born in Nigeria and famously refused to fight a super fight citing their roots in Africa.
Kamaru Usman will be in action at UFC 294. He stepped up on short notice to face Khamzat Chimaev after Paulo Costa withdrew due to a staph infection. Dana White has already stated on the record that the winner of the bout would receive the next title shot. Currently, the middleweight champion of the UFC, Sean Strickland is nursing an injury and is on vacation.
Israel Adesanya backing Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 against Islam Makhachev
In his recent appearance at the Rock Podcast, Israel Adesanya praised the featherweight champion of the UFC, Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski is also his teammate at City Kickboxing. Adesanya was of the firm belief that Volkanovski would become a double champion at UFC 294.
Moreover, he further emphasized that Volkanovski was the better fighter at UFC 284. It was when Islam Makhachev and Volkanovski locked horns for the first time. Makhachev won that fight by unanimous decision but Adesanya believed that Volkanovski was robbed of the victory. “The Last Stylebender” expects a dominant performance by Volkanovski this time.
With Adesanya losing the title at UFC 293, Volkanovski is the sole remaining champion from CKB and also from the Oceanic region. Before “The Great” agreed to the UFC 294 fight, there were rumors of him facing Ilia Topuria at UFC 297 in Vancouver, Canada.
In case you missed it!
- “If I could bet…” Israel Adesanya confidently backs Alexander Volkanovski to finish Islam Makhachev before the final bell
- “It’s going up the wall!” Islam Makhachev gets put on same wall as Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali by Dana White for fiery quote
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Nidhin Shibu
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