SUMMARY
- Israel Adesanya has returned to the Octagon after taking time off to look after his health and legal issues.
- The Last Stylebender was spotted utilizing Sean Strickland's Philly Shell and was trolled by fans.
Israel Adesanya has returned to training ahead of his expected return to the Octagon. Despite a shorter layoff than expected, the former champ looks to be in good shape. Notably, he has utilized his time off to improve on certain aspects of his game as well.
Previously, ‘The Last Stylebender’ lost his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Having just won it back against Alex Pereira at UFC 287, the performance raised a lot of questions. As such, the former champ hinted that he was facing numerous health issues behind the scenes. Thus, he declared that he would take time off from fighting, tending to his health and other legal matters in the meantime.
Adesanya using the Philly shell in training😳
Contender Izzy is loading 🔁 pic.twitter.com/5OJGKPvGCY
— Kenny Okoye🇳🇬 (@TruthfulUfcFan) February 23, 2024
Recently, after the middleweight title once again switched hands at UFC 297, Adesanya seemingly sprung into action. Taking to social media, the 34-year-old massively hinted towards making a return at UFC 300 and posting himself in training. Owing to a heated rivalry with current champ, Dricus du Plessis, the fight was anticipated by many. However, it appears as though the fight has been shelved by the UFC for now.
Fans react to Israel Adesanya’s ‘Philly Shell’ stance
With that said numerous clips of Israel Adesanya have been circulating the internet. Revealing that he is back in preparations for his next fight, the former champ has not been too discreet about it either. In a recent clip, fans saw Izzy sparring with what appeared to be a ‘Philly Shell’ stance.
Previously, Adesanya had come up against this particular style when Sean Strickland used it to beat him at UFC 293. Even months after the fight, he stated how Strickland’s jab was what caught him off-guard and was the difference maker on the night. Now it appears that Israel has taken the stance and the technique for himself and is looking to utilize it in his upcoming fight.
Soon after the clip was posted, fans flooded social media to share their thoughts. As such, a fan wrote, “If you can’t beat them, join em”, while another added, “Taking notes from his father” and “New and reformed Izzy.” For the most part, many took to trolling the former champ for trying to copy Sean Strickland in his latest training clip. Naturally, it remains to be seen whether Adesanya will actually use the Philly shell in his next fight or not.
Alex Pereira reveals that he is open to training with Israel Adesanya
Thus, fans weren’t too pleased with Israel Adesanya trying to copy the ways of Sean Strickland and his Philly shell. Notably, one fan mentioned, “Next thing you know, he will be training with (Alex) Pereira”. As it turns out, the timing is quite coincidental. Recently, Alex Pereira appeared on The MMA Hour to discuss numerous things. Amid talks of improving his English and other things, Pereira also had something to say about Adesanya.
Following his UFC 295 title win, ‘Poatan’ called for a trilogy fight against his arch nemesis Izzy. However, the callout was to no avail as Adesanya showed no intentions of returning to the sport at the time. As such, Alex has now shifted his tune, offering to train with his rival instead. Having been rivals for years, it would seem that the Brazilian is finally past holding any animosity against anyone.
As coach Plinio Cruz explains, “Even to the point that he thinks that they could both even train together if it comes down to that because he feels that if that ever happens, Israel is a very experienced guy, Alex is a very experienced guy, similar styles of high-level striking, different aspects of the game that one could add to the other”. Thus, it could be entirely possible that the two link up and train together in the future.