A knockout on your UFC debut, a six-figure paycheck, and a $50,000 bonus to top it all off—that’s the kind of fairytale beginning most fighters spend years chasing. For Israel Adesanya, though, it wasn’t just a dream start—it was the start. Fast, loud, and impossible to ignore.
But behind the high-octane highlight reels and flashy numbers, something deeper was brewing. Adesanya’s journey wasn’t just about climbing to the top—it was also about learning how to stay grounded when everything around him was changing.
According to Adesanya, right after that big win, it was chaos—in the best and worst way. Cameras in his face, nonstop photos, interview requests piling up, brands sliding into the picture—everyone suddenly wanted a piece of him.
But once the buzz died down and he was back home, slipping into his usual routine, something felt… off. He couldn’t put his finger on it at first, but he was feeling low, even sad—and he didn’t know why. Eventually, he decided to talk to someone, and that’s when it clicked.
All that fame? The spotlight? It was like a strong cup of coffee. Gave him a wild rush in the moment, but the crash afterward hit harder than he ever expected. Speaking to Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman on an episode of the Pound4Pound podcast, he delved deeper into his thoughts on the same.
“ I went home and I just f**king crashed. For me, that is when I started going to therapy because I started to understand this is bad, I should not feel sad. You feel guilty for feeling sad”, the former middleweight champion noted.
Needless to say, since then, the spotlight, the paydays, and the attention have only gotten brighter for the ‘Last Stylebender’.
However, on a 3-fight losing skid, Adesanya is now eager to get back into the cage and get back into the win column, and he was one name on mind.
Adesanya wants rematch with ‘bully’ Sean Strickland
Despite not being a title contender anymore, Adesanya isn’t done yet—and he’s got his eyes locked on a foe that started his downfall.
After a rough stretch, including a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia, people started wondering if “The Last Stylebender” might call it quits.
But after some time off and a few rounds of sparring with Kamaru Usman, Adesanya felt that fire come back. Now? He’s ready, and he wants revenge.
Strickland shocked the world at UFC 293, dominating Adesanya for five full rounds and snatching the middleweight belt. Izzy owns it: “He whooped my ass. Five-nil.” But now, he wants to run it back—and this time, with a clear head and full focus.
Now 35, Adesanya claims that while he doesn’t use it as an excuse, during his title reign at 185 lbs, he was fighting three to four times a year, something he realizes he can’t do anymore.
So he wants to choose his battles carefully. And Strickland, at this moment, seems like a great hill to be prepared to die on.
“I used to get bullied a lot as a kid,” Izzy said, trying to rationalize the fight for himself.
“So he’s an embodiment of that, in a sense. He attacked the young me, the inner child. So I just want to protect him and get some payback for him”, the former middleweight champion noted.
Meanwhile, Strickland, currently on a sabbatical, has yet to respond to Adesanya’s callout.
