With options for an opponent seemingly limited, Israel Adesanya has been offered a huge comeback in his return to the UFC later this year.
In the midst of a three-fight losing skid for the first time in his career, Israel Adesanya has been sidelined since his knockout defeat to Nassourdine Imavov earlier this year.
And hoping to land himself a rematch with fellow ex-champion Sean Strickland next, Adesanya has so far failed in his bid to entice the controversial star back to action.
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However, all is not lost — with a top challenger offering Adesanya a route back to action — and a potential title charge.
Israel Adesanya offered huge clash by Reinier de Ridder
The offer in question has been floated by Dutch standout Reinier de Ridder, who is fresh from his own close win over Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi just last month.
And hoping to close in on a shot at the belt ahead of Dricus du Plessis‘ return against the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev later this month, de Ridder has a showdown with City Kickboxing maestro Adesanya in mind.
“He (Israel Adesanya) still has the best record, he defeated (Alex) Pereira in his last fight [sic], and he fights so elegantly,” de Ridder told Inside Fighting.
“For me, this is a more significant reason to have a fight rather than with a guy who demands it on the basis that he simply hates me,” de Ridder explained.
However, despite his well-placed call out of Adesanya, de Ridder has come under fire for selecting that particular foe by an Octagon veteran.
Chael Sonnen questions Reinier de Ridder’s offer to Israel Adesanya
Targeting a return as soon as November — as part of a more than active year, de Ridder has designs to fight on a stacked Madison Square Garden card, potentially featuring Islam Makhachev’s welterweight debut.
As far as Chael Sonnen is concerned, however, de Ridder picked the wrong choice when calling out Adesanya — suggesting their rivalry has very little to no legs.
“He calls out Israel Adesanya, but he got more specific,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “It was a great call out, but it was the wrong guy.
“…And the only reason that’s a problem is that beating Adesanya doesn’t make you a number one contender. But there’s also a representation that RDR (Reinier de Ridder) is not understanding where he’s at.”
With his high-profile win over Whittaker, de Ridder cracked the middleweight top 5 — and currently sits just a spot behind former two-time champion, Adesanya.