In the main event of UFC 314, Alexander Volkanovski replicated an accomplishment of his friend and teammate.
Consecutive knockout losses had led to a lot of questions about whether ‘The Great’ would ever be able to climb back to the top of the sport again.
Volkanovski silenced those doubters after beating Diego Lopes on April 12 to win the vacant featherweight title following a great battle in Miami.
Israel Adesanya also reclaimed his title in the “Sunshine State” when he knocked out Alex Pereira in their rematch two years ago to become a two-time middleweight champion.
With Adesanya now without a win in his last three outings, it looks like ‘The Last Stylebender’ could be gearing up for another roll of the dice at 35-years-old.
Eugene Bareman says Alexander Volkanovski laid out the blueprint for Israel Adesanya to follow
Even Alexander Volkanovski admitted that his doubters had a point heading into UFC 314 because the task in front of him was an uphill one.
Whilst Israel Adesanya won’t be going straight back into a title fight if he does return, he’s still going to be involved in a matchup where fans question whether he has what it takes to compete with the best fighters at 185-pounds.
Adesanya’s head coach Eugene Bareman recently gave an update on ‘The Last Stylebender’ in an interview with Submission Radio where he said that whilst it is very early days, the former two-time champion does want to step back inside the Octagon.
“That is so far from my mind. To me, Israel’s taking a break mate, he’s in America. The one brief conversation that he had with me in the changing room at Volk’s, he said, ‘Look man, I think I’m going to fight again.’ Those are the conversations we’re having.”
For Bareman, he believes that if Adesanya is serious about making a return to try and bounce back with a win, Volkanovski just set the standard that they have to match.
The City Kickboxing head coach has spoken a lot in the past about how the striking specialist needs to be prepared to give everything he has for his training camps in order to compete at the highest level.
Stating that Volkanovski is the hardest and most dedicated worker that he has ever seen, Bareman said that ‘The Great’ just laid out the blueprint for Adesanya if he is serious about getting things back on track.
“Izzy knows the kind of commitment and dedication that he needs to be in this sport and we just had one of our best friends, a guy whose the same age as Izzy, might even be older, win the championship of the world. We both know from first-hand experience how hard that man works. Age is not gonna matter to a guy when you work like that… so we have a very close friend of ours and we look at his work ethic and that’s the example.
“That’s the bar, that’s where we’ve got to go and Izzy knows that’s where he’s got to go and that’s a heavy, heavy commitment. Dedicate yourself as much as Volk does is a heavy, heavy commitment for any fighter in their prime let alone one that’s in the twilight of their career so these are the kinds of things that Izzy is contemplating.”
Who could Israel Adesanya fight next?
Having lost in February to Nassourdine Imavov who is one of the newer faces at the top of the middleweight division, it might not be the best idea for Israel Adesanya to jump back in against a rising contender.
That being said, the UFC does have a track record of putting together this style of matchup where either Adesanya proves that he still deserves to be in the mix or his opponent records the biggest win of his career.
Names like Caio Borralho and Anthony Hernandez would fit that bill but a rematch with Sean Strickland could be another option.
You can guarantee that Adesanya will want that win back and after his disappointing performance against Dricus du Plessis in their rematch, a second victory over ‘The Last Stylebender’ would help Strickland regain some momentum.
