Adesanya’s Future After UFC 305 Loss
Israel Adesanya left UFC 305 with a fourth-round submission loss to Dricus du Plessis, but he quickly shut down retirement speculation. “I’m not f***ing leaving,” he told Daniel Cormier in the Octagon. The former champion said he had no fixed return date and was not desperate for an immediate rematch.
A loss, not a retirement announcement
Adesanya had been competitive with du Plessis before the champion hurt him and secured a rear-naked choke at 3:38 of the fourth round. Adesanya removed his gloves while speaking with Cormier, prompting questions about retirement. He later explained that his hands were sore and the gloves felt tight; he said the gesture was not a retirement signal.
The defeat followed Adesanya’s title loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023. He had beaten Alex Pereira earlier that year to regain the middleweight belt, making the two recent defeats a sharp change after a long stretch near the top of the division. At 35, he said he would return, but did not promise a three-month turnaround or name an opponent.
A rebuild on his own timetable
Adesanya also said he was not fixated on immediately winning the belt back. He praised du Plessis after their fight and described the loss as a chance to keep improving, including his grappling. That left his next move open: a rematch was possible, but he had not demanded one or announced when he would compete again.
The middleweight title picture was moving without him. White said Strickland was likely to challenge du Plessis next after UFC 305. For Adesanya, the immediate question was therefore not whether he would continue—he said he would—but how much time he wanted before returning and what kind of fight would make sense.
Sources: MMA Fighting on Adesanya’s post-fight comments; UFC 305 Octagon interview with Adesanya; Reuters on the fight result; MMA Fighting on the immediate title picture.
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Tags: MMA
