Israel Adesanya Speaks Honestly About Retirement Plans: “Now it’s closer”
Israel Adesanya recently discussed when he could potentially hang up the gloves, now that he is at the tail end of his career.
For now, Adesanya will return to the octagon after more than a year and headline UFC Seattle opposite Joe Pyfer on March 28.
The Nigerian-born Kiwi, who is on a three-fight losing skid, last locked horns with Nassourdine Imavov in February 2025 and was knocked out in the second round. After this loss, Adesanya took a hiatus from fighting to support his teammates who had bouts upcoming.
The former two-time UFC middleweight champion has now made it clear that he is no longer interested in chasing titles. ‘The Last Stylebender’ now wants exciting matchups. He wants to fight freely and enjoys this last stage of his career without any pressure that comes with belts and championships.
Israel Adesanya talks retirement: “I can see the finish line”
Recently, Israel Adesanya, in a YouTube video on his channel, while talking about his retirement, added that he perhaps has 10 or even fewer fights left in him.
He plans on competing twice this year and will also fight next year. However, he has started to think about retirement. ‘The Last Stylebender’ said:
“I know it’s less than 10. It can’t be past 10. So if I fight now, I fight one more time towards the end of the year, maybe. That’s two fights. If I do two fights a year, next year I can still fight. 2028 is going to be like, I don’t know yet. I can’t see past 2027. I don’t know. I don’t think that far ahead at the moment. I do glance at it… I just know I’m on the tail end. I can see the finish line. I’ve been seeing the finish line in the distance, but now it’s closer. But why know at what pace I will get there?”
Check out Israel Adesanya’s comments below (30:28):
In the same video, he also added that once he retires, there is no coming back, as he does not intend to be like the fighters who say farewell to the game, only to return later.
