In the main event of UFC 314, Alexander Volkanovski replicated an achievement of his friend and teammate.
Successive knockout losses had led to many questions about whether 'The Great' could ever climb to the top of the sport again.
Volkanovski silent those doubts after beating Diego Lopes on April 12 to win the vacant featherweight title after a big battle in Miami.
Israel Adesanya also recovered his title in the “Sunshine State” when he eliminated Alex Pereira two years ago to become two -time middleweight champion.
With Adesanya now without a victory in his last three trips, it seems that 'The Last Stylebender' could be 35 years old for another role of the dice.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Eugene Bareman says that Alexander Volkanovski has put the blueprint for Israel Adesanya to follow
Even Alexander Volkanovski admitted that his doubters had a point on their way to UFC 314 because the task was a tough one for him.
Although Israel Adesanya does not immediately go back to a title fight when he returns, he will still be involved in a matchup where fans wonder if he needs what is needed to compete with the best hunters on 185 pounds.
Adesanya's head coach Eugene Bareman recently gave an update about 'The Last Stylebender' in an interview with Submission Radio, where he said that although it is very early, the former double champion back one step back in the Octagon.
“That is so far from my thoughts. For me, Israel takes a break, he is in America. The only short conversation he had with me in the dressing room with people, he said:” Look man, I think I'm going to fight again. “Those are the conversations we have.”
For Bareman, he believes that if Adesanya is serious to return to try to bounce back with a victory, Volanovski has simply set the standard they have to match.
The head coach of the Stadskickboxing has spoken a lot in the past about how the striking specialist should be willing to give everything he has for his training camps to compete at the highest level.
Bareman said that Volkanovski is the most difficult and most dedicated employee he has ever seen, that 'the big' has put the blueprint for Adesanya if he is seriously on the right track.
“Izzy knows the kind of dedication and dedication that he should be in this sport and we just had one of our best friends, a man whose the same age as Izzy, maybe even older, win the championship of the world. We both know from first -hand experience how hard that man works.
“That is the bar, that is where we have to go and Izzy knows that he has to go there and that is a heavy, heavy dedication. Put yourself as much as people a heavy, heavy dedication for every hunter in their prime, let alone one that is at dusk of their career, so these are the types of things that Izzy are considering.”
Who could then fight Israel Adesanya?
After lost in February to Nassourdine Imavov, who is one of the newer faces at the top of the middleweight division, this may not be the best idea for Israel Adesanya to jump back to an emerging competition.
That said, the UFC has a track record of compiling this style of Matchup, where both Adesanya proves that he still deserves to be in the mix or his opponent is taking the biggest victory of his career.
Names such as Caio Borralho and Anthony Hernandez could fit in that account, but a rematch with Sean Strickland could be another option.
You can guarantee that Adesanya wants that victory back and after his disappointing performance against Dricus du Plessis in their rematch, a second victory would help 'The Last Stylebender' Strickland to get some momentum back.