Israel Adesanya wants to headline an Australian show at least one more time.
The UFC’s reigning middleweight champion tweeted Tuesday that before he retires, he wants to again fight in Australia, where he most recently competed in the main event of UFC 243 in October 2019 opposite fellow Oceanic standout Robert Whittaker.
“I wanna fight in Aussie one more time before I call it quits,” Adesanya wrote.
Next, Adesanya is set to fight Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 in Houston. It was long hoped for that the rematch would again headline a major show in Australia or perhaps New Zealand, but with strict COVID-19 safety protocol regulations in both countries, the UFC has not been able to return to the region since UFC 243.
“The Last Stylebender” was born in Nigeria, but currently resides and trains in New Zealand. He competed in New Zealand, China, and Australia before making his debut with at UFC 221 in Perth. He returned to Australia in February 2019 for a fight (that later became the main event following the cancellation of a bout between Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum) with Anderson Silva at UFC 243 in Melbourne and then returned there eight months later to successfully challenge Whittaker for the UFC middleweight title.
Though Adesanya hinted at an eventual retirement in his tweet, the 32-year-old has given no indication that he plans to hang up the gloves anytime soon. Adesanya has competed professionally in kickboxing, boxing, and MMA since 2010.
