In photos: Israel Adesanya drops new training snaps ahead of UFC 305 return against Dricus du Plessis
Israel Adesanya appears ready for his fighting return after sharing a series of training snaps on Instagram. The former UFC middleweight champion is set to try to reclaim his title as he prepares to face Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, later this month.
'The Last Stylebender' had previously been taking an extended break from the sport following his surprising loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last year. After being soundly beaten by 'Tarzan', Adesanya opted to take some time away to nurse a few undisclosed injuries and mentally reset.
Prior to his defeat against Strickland, Adesanya was one of the most active fighters on the roster, fighting nine times between 2020-2023.
Fans have since been eagerly awaiting Adesanya's return as he looks to settle his long-running beef with du Plessis. The pair have been locked into a war of words over the last year, with the South African initially getting under Adesanya's skin by claiming he is "the only real African champion."
Adesanya has, however, assured his supporters that his return will see him look better than ever in the octagon. Taking to Instagram to share his training snaps, he captioned the post:
"Maximum Effort!! 💀"
One of the photographs sees Adesanya landing a signature head kick:
Another photo shows Adesanya landing a jab in order to set up a looping right hook:
The last photograph shows the Nigerian-New Zealander oozing with confidence ahead of his return:
Israel Adesanya gets nostalgic about his UFC career
As he gears for his highly anticipated return to the octagon, Israel Adesanya has reflected on a career that has seen him become regarded as one of the greatest UFC middleweights in history.
After making his debut for the promotion in 2018, 'The Last Stylebender' went on to win the interim and undisputed middleweight gold in 2019. He eventually suffered his first defeat in the division at the hands of Alex Pereira in 2022 before exacting his revenge against the Brazilian just five months later. He then opted to take an extended break from the sport last year after suffering a defeat to Sean Strickland.
Ahead of his return later this month, Adesanya spoke to Fox Sports Australia. While chatting about his upcoming bout, the 35-year-old reflected on his illustrious career.
''I'm feeling really good, just clocking back into work. I'm enjoying the little things like this, this is nice. Because before these would be sometimes a little bit tedious, because even this morning they woke me up at 6:30 and I was like, 'Cool, boom, let's go...' Look, one day, this will be gone.''
Check out Adesanya's comments here (5:39):