By Daily Sports Nigeria on June 28, 2025

Israel Adesanya is targeting a rematch with Sean Strickland as his preferred opponent for his planned UFC comeback in late 2025, calling out the former middleweight champion, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter is eyeing a return to the octagon between mid-September and October, with revenge against Strickland firmly in his sights following their encounter at UFC 293.

Strickland defeated Adesanya to claim the middleweight title at that event, sparking a three-fight losing spiral for ‘The Last Stylebender’ that he has yet to escape from.

“Most likely, I’m gonna guess to mid-September, October,” Adesanya told Ariel Helwani regarding his comeback date.

“Sean. No question. He lost his last fight. I lost my fight. And it’s like, ‘Alright. Cool. Want a rematch?’”

However, Adesanya has expressed frustration that Strickland isn’t engaging with his call-outs, leaving the former two-time champion curious about his rival’s reluctance to respond.

The planned comeback comes just days after Adesanya received one of the sport’s highest honours, being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

His epic 2019 clash with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 was enshrined in the Fight Wing, joining other legendary contests in the promotion’s prestigious Hall of Fame.

The five-round interim middleweight title battle, which Adesanya won via unanimous decision, is widely considered one of the greatest fights in UFC history and marked a pivotal moment in his rise to championship glory.

“Very grateful. I knew that was a special fight, a special moment in combat sports history,” Adesanya told The Mac Life when the Hall of Fame selection was first announced in February.

“I even said on the camera when they had the cameras on me in the stadium, I said, ‘Hey Kelvin, that was us’ because it takes two to tango. That man can salsa.”

The bout featured one of the most memorable moments in UFC history when, before the fifth and final round, Adesanya declared he was prepared to die in the octagon during what many consider the greatest fight in the promotion’s history.

“That was the realest moment I think I’ve ever had in the cage,” Adesanya said. “I meant every single word of it, and I returned the favour by trying to kill him. And he’s a hard man to kill. In the moment, I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t scared of death. I just thought, ‘if this is how I go out, this is how I go out — but I’m going to die trying.’”

UFC CEO Dana White previously lauded the contest as one of the greatest fights he’s ever witnessed, saying, “This was an absolute war with the interim title on the line. Congrats to Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum on a fight that will always be remembered!”

Source Punch Ng

Posted June 28, 2025

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