Israel Adesanya’s trainer announces new return date after heartbreaking UFC 305, and it’s sooner than you think

Israel Adesanya could return to the Octagon as early as 2024. This was hinted at by none other than Adesanya’s trainer Eugene Bareman. While “Izzy” missed his big moment in the main event of UFC 305, Bareman explained that “The Last Stylebender” is very interested in returning to the UFC Octagon soon.

In an interview with Combat TV he said: “I would say that Izzy will fight again this year. This year it could really start again, it just doesn’t stop.” Currently, Adesanya has returned to Nigeria to take some time off and reconnect with his roots.

UFC 305 was Adesanya’s chance to re-establish his position as the top contender in the middleweight division. Challenging champion Dricus du Plessis for the title, Adesanya went on a verbal tirade as fight day approached. After declaring himself the “true African champion,” Adesanya accused Du Plessis of having a “colonial” mindset.

At the start of the fight, Adesanya was the clear favorite, while former UFC champions like Alexander Volkanovski clearly favored “Izzy.”

However, once the fight began, Du Plessis’ unorthodox style caused Adesanya considerable problems. While ‘Izzy’ went on the attack, Du Plessis stood his ground and let Adesanya freak out. In a brilliant moment, Du Plessis took Adesanya down and caught him in a chokehold, which ultimately forced Adesanya to submit.

This was quite a bitter pill for Adesanya to swallow. Despite once dominating the middleweight division, Adesanya initially lost his title to Alex Pereira. However, he quickly made a comeback and regained his title from Poatan. Unfortunately, Adesanya did not win any more fights. In a surprise loss, “Izzy” lost his title to Sean Strickland. When you think about his recent losses, Eugene Bareman said that the setback at UFC 305 was pretty easy to accept.

On the WTFATG podcast, Eugene Bareman mentioned that Du Plessis deserves credit. Bareman praised Du Plessis’ performance in the Octagon. However, Bareman placed the blame entirely on Adesanya for the loss to Strickland. He explained that “Izzy” was inexplicably out of form and did everything wrong that day.

Now Adesanya is trying to deal with the downward trend and get back on his feet quickly. With UFC events coming up, it will be interesting to see whether or not his wish comes true.

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