Prior to his rematch with Alex Pereira, former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya declared his intention to retire from mixed martial arts in the following five years.
The Last Stylebender will now try to avenge his loss against Poatan on April 9 at UFC 287 in Miami.
The Nigerian star lost his title last year after suffering his third defeat in his fighting career at the hands of longtime foe Pereira.
The 33-year-old has vowed to try to conclude his career on a high note and aims to regain his position as the division’s king.
Right Adesanya stated at a press conference in Australia about his forthcoming rematch with Pereira, “I’ve been in the UFC five years.”
If I’m being completely honest, I won’t still be around in five years. I have other responsibilities in my life. I’m really good at this stuff, and I love doing it, but I never commit to it, and I’ll always come out on top.
So yeah, that’s the place where I feel like you should leave. But again, I’ve been here five years in the UFC, (snaps fingers) it went like that. We’ll see how long I?m here for but I don?t think it?s gonna be five years, Adesanya said.
Adesanya has become a hugely popular figure in martial arts and is currently the UFC’s second-highest-paid fighter behind his friend Conor McGregor.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander has a record of 23 wins and two losses.