Israel Adesanya will hope the saying ‘iron sharpens iron’ rings true after his recent time training with UFC 316 headliner Sean O’Malley.
Adesanya is in desperate need of a return to winning form inside the Octagon, following a run of defeats that have left some suggesting his time in the sport is up.
Most recently, Adesanya was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. The Frenchman rendered the former two-time UFC middleweight champion’s strong first round null and void by closing the show in the second.
‘The Last Stylebender’ has now lost three in a row since his monumental KO against Alex Pereira in April 2023. But the 35-year-old has still committed to another fight down the line.
And when he prepares for it, Adesanya will seemingly do so with some extra knowledge and training approaches courtesy of the man tasked with headlining the upcoming UFC 316 pay-per-view.
Israel Adesanya appreciates valuable training with Sean O’Malley
During a recent YouTube video, Adesanya detailed his time training with David Goggins, a retired United States Navy SEAL renowned for his extreme endurance.
But Goggins isn’t the only notable name the Nigerian-New Zealander has been working with.
Adesanya also posted footage of training with O’Malley in April. And while reflecting on his time with ‘Sugar’ ahead of releasing a vlog detailing it soon, the middleweight legend teased new additions to his next fight camp as a result of it.
“[First time] hanging out with him outside of work, and also being at his house and hanging out with him as a person,” Adesanya said. “I always knew me and Sean, we’re similar spirits.
“Being a striker, being a guy who uses his range, uses feints very well. We have similar tastes in the art of striking.
“It was good to just tap in with him. [I picked up] heaps of things from him,” Adesanya continued. “I don’t wanna talk too much about some of the things because I just feel like it’s for me.
“He’s done something which I’m inspired with. … Hanging out with people like that who are high level, top of their field, if you don’t pick up something, then you’re missing the point. I had to pick up something from them just to bring back to my camp.”
O’Malley will next challenge Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 after being granted an immediate rematch following his defeat by the Georgian last September.
Israel Adesanya’s next fight could come against a familiar face
For now, Adesanya remains without a date on the calendar for his next UFC fight. But the former two-time champ knows what he wants.
In another YouTube video with Goggins, Adesanya explained why he has a rematch with Sean Strickland in his crosshairs this year.
“I told Hunter [Campbell], I told my coach, ‘Yeah, it’s time.’ … I have a feeling who I want to fight,” Adesanya said. “Strickland, I’m gonna get him back.
“I used to get bullied a lot as a kid. He’s an embodiment of that in the sense that he attacked a young me, the inner child. So I just wanna protect him and get some get back for him.”
Adesanya’s second UFC title reign came to a shocking halt at the hands of Strickland in September 2023.
The American headed to Australia to headline UFC 293 as a sizable underdog but had fans on their feet when he dropped Adesanya early into the pay-per-view main event.
Strickland was then able to control the fight on the feet en route to a lopsided decision on the scorecards, marking one of the biggest title upsets in UFC history.