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There's no denying that Israel Adesanya has become one of the biggest stars in MMA. Despite the former UFC middleweight champion being in the prime of his career, he does have a timeline in mind for when he plans to retire from the sport.
Prior to beginning his MMA career, Adesanya was an elite kickboxer and competed against some of the top kickboxers in the world, including reigning UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira.
While speaking with the media at UFC 284, the former middleweight champion revealed how much longer he plans on competing.
He said:
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"I've been in the UFC 5 years, right? If I'm being honest, I'm not gonna be here in 5 years. I have other things to do in life. I've said this with John Anik...I said, 'You never seen on my Instagram bio or any of my social media bio UFC fighter once I became a UFC fighter. When I became champ, you never UFC champion. I never attached myself to this." [13:23 - 13:47]
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'Izzy' brought up that he doesn't want to attach himself to being labeled as a fighter because he would like to branch out and explore other avenues in the future. With that in mind, he wants to continue competing at an elite level and not take the experience for granted.
The former middleweight champion has had a long combat sports career. The 33-year-old has been competing in kickboxing and MMA since 2010 and clearly isn't planning on fighting into his 40s.
He believes it's important to enjoy the moment and mentioned that when he's done with the sport, he will miss it, saying:
"Each camp, each sparring, each training, I'm present. Even when I'm doing my wraps with my boys, I look around and I feel like we're gladiators about to go to war and yeah, it's powerful. So, yeah, I'm gonna leave on top and yeah, just enjoy me while I'm here." [14:16 - 14:31]
It remains to be seen whether Adesanya eventually plans to make a permanent move to light heavyweight or if he plans to continue fighting at 185lbs for the remainder of his MMA career.
Check out the full video:
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rematch set for UFC 287
Israel Adesanya will have another opportunity to avenge his losses to Alex Pereira when he challenges him for the middleweight championship at UFC 287, which is set to take place at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, on April 8.
The fight is a rematch from their encounter at UFC 281, which saw 'Poatan' defeat 'Izzy' via fifth-round TKO to become the new champion. What makes this fight interesting is that they have had a long-standing rivalry dating back to their kickboxing careers.
Pereira defeated Adesanya in both kickboxing bouts and extended the winning streak to three when he became the new middleweight king this past November at UFC 281. 'Izzy' could finally put 'Poatan' in the rearview if he can avenge his losses and regain the title.
