Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya sought the help of a former foe as he prepared for UFC Saudi Arabia.
Israel Adesanya is laser-focused on his upcoming Octagon return against Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event next month. He returns to the cage for the first time since falling to UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305.
After initially teasing a long hiatus, Adesanya isn’t wasting much time getting back to the cage in hopes of another title pursuit. An impressive performance against Imavov could potentially earn himself a No. 1 contender fight, at worst, or a shot at the Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 victor.
In the meantime, Adesanya has dramatically changed his regimen ahead of the Imavov fight. He’s brought in several new training partners for this fight camp, including the man he defeated to become a UFC champion earlier in his career.
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‘Chama’…UFC fans react to Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker teaming up
In a recent Instagram post, Adesanya revealed he’s working with former UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker ahead of his Octagon return.
“New year, new friends,” Adesanya posted along with training footage of him and Whittaker.
Adesanya and Whittaker fought twice during their careers at UFC 243 and UFC 271. After Adesanya knocked out Whittaker to dethrone the middleweight titleholder at UFC 243, their second fight was much more competitive, as Adesanya walked away with a tightly-contested unanimous decision win.
Whittaker, like Adesanya, is looking to get back on track after a tough loss in his last fight. He suffered a submission defeat to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 following wild wins over Ikram Aliskerov and Paulo Costa last year.
It didn’t take long for fans/pundits, along with some of Adesanya’s fighting colleagues, to weigh in on his new training partner.
“Chama,” Alex Pereira commented.
“Now we need a buddy cop movie,” UFC analyst Laura Sanko responded.
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker squash past beef ahead of returns
As of this writing, Whittaker’s UFC return hasn’t been booked as he plots his comeback later this year. He and Adesanya, after holding the top two spots in the UFC middleweight division for years, are now on the outside looking in when it comes to the title picture.
Before the loss to du Plessis at UFC 305, Adesanya suffered a stunning defeat to Strickland at UFC 293. It’s the first time in his MMA career that he’s lost back-to-back fights.
Adesanya and Whittaker had some bad blood ahead of their first clash at UFC 243 in Melbourne. Since then, there’s mutual respect developed between the two middleweight greats, and both are strong candidates for the UFC Hall of Fame.
In the meantime, Adesanya and Whittaker are working hard to get back on track in their careers as they appear to put their past rivalry aside. Whether or not their time training together pays off remains to be seen, but regardless, it’s a cool moment for fight fans to witness.
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