Israel Adesanya promises that, once he retires, he’ll stay retired
Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya discussed his future retirement plans, emphasizing his commitment to staying retired once he leaves the sport. Despite his recent string of losses, he expressed a desire to pursue adrenaline-filled activities like poker rather than returning to the cage.
Why it matters
Adesanya is a high-profile athlete whose career trajectory and post-retirement plans are of significant interest to the sports entertainment industry.
Things have not been going great for Israel Adesanya in the cage lately. The former UFC middleweight champ, and future Hall of Famer, has lost his last four fights in a row. And the three most recent of those were all stoppages.
In March he was pounded out by Joe Pyfer in the second round. Before that he was clipped and flash KO'd by Nassourdine Imavov. The Last Stylebender's last win was his aura farming revenge KO of Alex Pereira in 2023.
Clearly Adesanya's best fighting years are behind him, at this point. And this week Adesanya uploaded a video to YouTube, alongside his friend and training partner Alexander Volkanovski, to discuss what his retirement might look like.
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