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UFC veteran gives Israel Adesanya advice after third consecutive loss: 'You have to wake up at 5 in the morning'

Matt Brown believes Adesanya has lost his hunger to win and needs to regain his discipline to remain competitive in the UFC

Israel Adesanya is a former UFC champion. Photo: Reproduction/UFC Europe

Israel adesanya He is a former UFC champion. Photo: Reproduction/UFC Europe

The defeat of Israel Adesanya to Nassourdine Imavov in the main fight of UFC Saudi Arabia has raised speculation about the future of the former middleweight champion (up to 83,9 kg). With three consecutive losses and only one victory in the last five fights, much of the MMA world believes it is time for the Nigerian to hang up his gloves. For Matt Brown, 'Stylebender' needs to make some adjustments if he wants to stay in the UFC.

In a recent episode of MMA Fighting's Fighter vs. Writer podcast, Matt Brown pointed out that Adesanya has lost his hunger to fight and needs to regain the discipline and dedication he had at the beginning of his career. The veteran suggests that the former champion has become complacent after so much success and that returning to training with the same intensity as before will be a difficult challenge.

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“He’s got to get thirsty again. He’s got to get back to waking up at 5 a.m. and stopping going out on Saturday nights. He’s got to get back to doing the things he did when he was younger. That’s tough. It’s not easy. He’s comfortable. He’s had an incredible career. It’s tough to forget all that and get back to training like he did on day one,” Brown said.

The UFC veteran questioned whether the Nigerian still has the motivation to keep fighting, since without a chance of fighting for the title soon, he would just be taking risks without much purpose. Brown suggested that retirement could be an option, unless the former champion needs to continue competing for financial reasons.

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“Should he retire? I think that’s the big question. That’s up to him to decide, but I agree that he probably won’t fight for a title again any time soon. Maybe never. It’s going to be a tough decision. It’s like, do you want to keep fighting without much meaning or anything like that? What would be the purpose? How is he going to motivate himself? If you’re not working towards a goal, like fighting for the title, you’re just putting yourself at risk all the time. Now, if he needs money, that’s a different story,” concluded the veteran.

Israel adesanya

Israel adesanya has fought 12 UFC title fights, accumulating a record of eight wins and four losses in title fights. After a long reign at middleweight, the Nigerian was dethroned by Alex Poatán No. UFC 281, but regained the title in the rematch at UFC 287. However, his second reign was brief, being surpassed by Sean Strickland No. UFC 293.

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