Israel Adesanya isn’t chasing ghosts anymore. Not belts, not validation, not the version of himself that once ruled the UFC middleweight division with theatrical dominance and cultural gravity.
At this stage of his career, the former two-time UFC middleweight champion speaks like a man who has already climbed the mountain twice, seen the view from the top, and now understands the terrain in ways few ever will. The hunger still exists. The artistry still matters. But any entitlement is gone. So is the illusion, which, from his vantage point, clears up a less-than-stellar 185-pound landscape.
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Speaking on Wednesday’s edition of «The Ariel Helwani Show,» Adesanya assessed his division at present.
«I [was champion] twice. It can happen again. I’m still me,» Adesanya told Uncrowned. «The middleweight division right now is not really the same as when I was in the game. I know they like me as champion, but it’s not really my main focus. When it comes, it comes.
«What was the last exciting thing at middleweight? Where people were talking about it. It’s good to have Khamzat [Chimaev] as champion — that was the last exciting thing. Since then, there’s not really been anything that feels [interesting].
«It just doesn’t feel the same as when I was in the game,» Adesanya added. «I gave people someone to love, I gave some people someone to hate — I gave people something to feel, whether they loved me or hated me. But right now it just feels bland. Other divisions are way more exciting.”
Adesanya’s critique isn’t rooted in bitterness; it’s more observational, almost clinical. He understands the business, the cycles of star power and the vacuum that forms when a division loses its gravitational pull. During his reigns, middleweight wasn’t just competitive — it was emotional. Rivalries carried narratives. Fights carried consequences. The division moved because Adesanya moved it.
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Now, he returns not as a savior or new superstar atop the weight class, but as a dangerous variable dropped back into the ecosystem of 185 pounds.
That variable meets Joe Pyfer in UFC Seattle’s main event on March 28 — a matchup that feels intentionally volatile. Pyfer brings raw physicality, knockout threat and the hunger of a rising contender looking to make his name. Adesanya recognizes exactly what the assignment represents.
“It is just what I need to come back to — a dangerous opponent that they’re trying to feed me to,» Adesanya said.
«This is a game. This is what happens. I’ve watched this game for years. I just know how they try and succeed, they try and fail, but this is just how the nature of the beast is.”
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Adesanya, 36, has been the hunter, the champion, the hunted, the measuring stick, and now — perhaps most intriguingly — the litmus test for the next wave. He doesn’t resist that role. He understands it.
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More than anything, his perspective reflects a fighter who has shed the pressure of legacy-building and replaced it with presence. Time away has recalibrated him.
«I’m tainted because I’ve seen the game from the inside now, so I don’t have the rose-colored glasses, obviously, but I love the pure art. The pureness of fighting,» Adesanya said. «This is one thing; I’ve taken a lot of time off. This is the biggest hiatus of my career.
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«The end is always around the corner. F***, we could all go outside and get run over by a f***ing bus. The end’s always around the corner, so I just try and live in the moment and take each moment as it comes. Enjoy the moment, really soak it in. I can do that now. There’s no pressure to worry about other people. I just worry about myself.»
That freedom — mental, emotional, competitive — may lead to the most unpredictable version of Adesanya yet. No chasing. No proving. No forced urgency. Just clarity.
«I feel freer than I ever have,» Adesanya said. «I know the game — I can’t be mad at the game, and you can’t be jaded. I’m just tainted, but I’m also blessed that I got to see the game from the inside, and I got to see it at the very top. The tippy, tippy, tippy top. I’m still right there, but I understand how the game is played, so I play accordingly, and I play it very well. This is just a new level that I haven’t hit yet. So, just play my part.»
Whether that part leads back to gold or simply to moments worth savoring, Adesanya has already shaped an era. Now he’s navigating the next chapter with open eyes and a rare sense of peace. He’ll step into Seattle not to reclaim the throne, but to remind the division that the artist is still very much alive.
