Israel Adesanya receives reply from heavyweight champion: ‘I support your decision to take a break from fighting’

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In reply to Israel Adesanya’s healthy decision to leave professional fighting for a time, the heavyweight champion at the UFC, Jon Jones, posted a message of support to Adesanya on his X (formerly Twitter) account recently.

According to Jon Jones, who himself took a break from fighting before returning to earn the heavyweight title, Jones just wanted to let the junior fighter know that he supports his decision to take a break from fighting.

Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight belt to Sean Strickland lately by a unanimous decision in a shocking title upset. It remains an enigma what brought about Adesanya’s horrible performance in the bout that saw him easily lose his title after just regaining it from tough Alex Pereira.

Before the match, the votes on who would be the winner were in Israel Adesanya’s favour because of the effortless way he overcame Alex Pereira, who was the king of the middleweight division. His Muay Thai background played the most part in the victory by furnishing him with the kick he continually delivered to Pereira’s left knee till the champion could not stand easily on it. Everyone was shocked that Alex Pereira looked too below the level he was contending in, so when the time came for Adesanya to face Strickland, fans, pundits, and spectators expected nothing less. Adesanya himself boasted he would make Strickland look as easy as he made Pereira look.

‘Before this fight I was very like, ‘I know I’m on the back end of my career, so I want to do as many as I can because I know when I’m done with this, I’m going to miss it. I’m trying to do as much as I can. But then after this fight, and again, 14 months and four fights, it’s not just the fights, it’s the training and everything.’

– Adesanya.

After the unfortunate loss, Adesanya publicised his desire to take a break from fighting for a while, even though a quick rematch was expected. Many tried to convince him not to seek an immediate rematch with Sean Strickland, but it seemed that UFC CEO Dana White had other things in mind.

In reaction to the decision Adesanya made later, Jon Jones posted the following on his X wall:

‘Hey @stylebender I just want to let you know I support your decision to take a break from fighting. Taking those last three years off was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Always put YOU first brother. Protect your heart, protect your mimd & spirit. Proud of you Champ.’

Israel Adesanya also said before this reaction from Jones, ‘Now I’m going to take time to look after myself, and I’m not going to fight for a long time. I’m definitely not going to retire because I know me — I’m not leaving like that.

‘I know me. But if I did, I’m fine. I don’t need to prove anything else. But I know what I can do, and I know what I can change in my lifestyle to make my body adapt to where I need to be.

‘I’m going to heal myself up. You won’t see me fight for a long time. When I come back, run for the f—king hills,’

Following his being found guilty of drunk driving in New Zealand, former champion Israel Adesanya will be sentenced in a few months. He is not going to spend his break at the beach, it seems.