PERTH, Australia – Two-time UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] thinks he has one big thing going for him as he tries to add his name back to the history books.
His experience in the trenches on his way to his first UFC title win, then when he recaptured the belt a second time, is what he’s hoping will be the difference this week ahead of UFC 305 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
“Experience (is the difference),” Adesanya said at Wednesday’s UFC 305 media day. “A lot has happened in the last few months. I’ve had to go through some life sh*t myself. My personal life, on my social media, (I don’t show what I) go through, a lot of life stuff and a lot of soul searching and a lot of, ‘What do I want from this game? What do I want from life? What do I see myself? What do I want my legacy to be?’
“All these questions I have to ask myself and have honest talk to myself. Eventually I just knew when I came back, I wanted to be renewed, reinvented. I wanted to be the same animal, but a different beast.”
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) challenges new champion Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the belt in the main event. There’s heat there, too, and it’s quite personal, it seems, for both fighters.
Adesanya was born in Nigeria, but moved to New Zealand and has lived there and trained there for years. Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou also were UFC champions born in Africa, but who train elsewhere. But Du Plessis was born and still lives and trains in South Africa. His past claim that makes him the only true African champion has led to some racially charged tension with him and Adesanya heading into the fight.
For each, perhaps the trick will be to fight through the emotional and mental hurdles of the week to save the energy for the fight. And Adesanya thinks he’s seen some growth there that will play out to make him just the second three-time champion in UFC history.
“I’m different now,” he said. “I’m not trying to look toward the future. I’m putting everything on this fight. I’m not a guy who needs to fight for a belt (because) I’ve never done it before. This is my one – I’m just focused on this fight and this time out and then I’ll deal with whatever comes next when it comes.”
Adesanya lost the middleweight title to Strickland in September 2023 in Sydney, which was his first fight in Australia or New Zealand in nearly four years. It is considered one of the biggest title fight upsets in UFC history.
But a win for Adesanya in Perth would put him alongside UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture as the only ones to have three separate UFC title reigns.
“I think you guys will see the best me you’ve seen yet,” Adesanya said. “I’m the biggest that I’ve ever been, the most muscular, I guess, I’ve ever been. I feel faster. I surprise myself, sometimes, with this speed that I’m hitting with. I’m not really hitting hard – I’m just really sharp. I feel like a blade in this one. It feels good to refresh myself and reset myself, and now let’s get it.”
Check out Adesanya’s full media day interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 305.