Nigerian-born former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has opened up about the financial difficulties he faced after his loss to Alex Pereira at Glory of Heroes 1 in Shenzhen, China, on April 2, 2016. Following this defeat, Adesanya found himself in a dire situation, left with only $500, which was barely enough to cover a week’s worth of groceries.
During this challenging period, Adesanya received crucial financial assistance from his coach, Eugene Bareman. Reflecting on that time, he stated, “When I was fighting in China and I lost to Alex, they stopped giving me fights. I think, at the time, I was the highest-paid foreign fighter in China, but then they stopped giving me fights.”
As his financial situation worsened, Adesanya was forced to appeal to his promoters for more fights, saying, “Look, I have seven more fights on my contract. Can I at least just get three? I just need three.” This struggle starkly contrasts with Adesanya’s current high-profile career in the UFC, which has seen both victories and losses in middleweight title bouts.
Despite recent setbacks, including losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis, Adesanya remains determined. In a recent appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, he expressed his desire to return to the octagon before the end of the year or early next year. “At the moment, I want to fight one more time before the end of this year, or early next year. But I don’t know yet. I’m just training, building off where we left off,” he said.
As Adesanya prepares for his comeback, fans and experts are eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the career of this resilient and dynamic fighter, who has demonstrated his strength both inside and outside the octagon.
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