Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya nearly fought Reinier de Ridder on short notice.

After Anthony Hernandez was forced out of his main event fight against de Ridder, Adesanya was offered the bout and was interested in it. However, he was injured and wouldn’t have been ready in time, so Brendan Allen got the fight instead.

Yet, Adesanya admitted that it was a fight he wanted and had wished that if the timing worked out better, he would have fought de Ridder last year.

“I was gonna fight last year, but then I got injured in the gym,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “That opportunity got taken away. It was a short-notice fight as well, and I’ve never done one of those, so that would’ve been exciting. RDR, on five weeks’ notice, six weeks’ notice. I was already training, so I was getting ready for a fight. It’s like I’ve never done this before, hop in there. But that moment got taken away from me. In hindsight, that’s the best thing.”

A fight between Israel Adesanya and Reinier de Ridder would have been very interesting to see how it played out. Of course, against Allen, de Ridder gassed out en route to being forced to retire on the stool. However, Adesanya wouldn’t have been grappling as much as Allen, so whether or not de Ridder would have gassed out against Adesanya is to be seen.

Israel Adesanya set to headline UFC Seattle

Although Adesanya didn’t get a chance to headline a card against de Ridder, he does have his next fight booked.

The former UFC middleweight champion is set to take on Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Seattle on March 28. It will be his first fight since February 1, 2025, when he suffered a TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov. Adesanya is on a three-fight losing streak, losing to Sean Strickland by decision, Dricus Du Plessis by submission, and Imavov.

Who do you think would have won between Israel Adesanya and Reiner de Ridder? Let us know in the comment section, PENN Nation!