Wrestle World - Matt Brown explains why Israel Adesanya fighting with ‘something to prove’ off 2 straight losses might be what he needs

Israel Adesanya enters uncharted territory on Saturday at UFC Saudi Arabia when he returns to action off two straight losses for the first time in his career.

It’s easy to lose context when talking about back-to-back defeats considering Adesanya fell to UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and No. 1 contender Sean Strickland in those fights but he’s now battling a narrative that his upcoming bout against Nassourdine Imavov is a must-win situation. But retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown, who counts Adesanya as a friend and former training partner, believes that might actually bring out the best in him.

“He’s still there,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I think him going back to feeling like he has something to prove again is going to pay a lot of dividends for him.”

In many ways, Adesanya is sitting at one of the most pivotal moments in his career.

Because he’s largely viewed as arguably one of the top middleweight fighters in the history of the sport, he’s never far away from title contention, especially when factoring in his immense popularity and drawing power. But on the flipside, a third straight loss for Adesanya would be devastating and questions about his relevancy as a top 185-pound fighter would come fast and furious following the event.

That’s why Brown won’t downplay the significance of this fight but adversity might actually bring the best out of Adesanya after he sat on his throne as champion for so long.

“I don’t know if he got comfortable because I don’t know his mindset but there’s almost no way not to get comfortable,” Brown said. “It’s almost impossible to not get a little bit comfortable, especially when you’re fighting a guy like Strickland who on paper looks like he’s an easy matchup. But we also can’t forget, and I think we had this discussion right after the fight, don’t take away from Strickland. He’s a f*cking bad dude and obviously he may just be a poor stylistic matchup for Izzy.

“[This fight is] certainly important for him. I’m sure he knows that very well himself, regardless of what he’s saying. I’ve always loved Israel Adesanya from the beginning. I’ve known him since before he was in the UFC, when he was fighting in GLORY and his mindset has always been second to none. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him. Even after he was champion, I’d run into him and he’s still the same guy. I really appreciate that. Such a good dude. Still down to Earth. He comes across like a flashy guy, but he’s really down to Earth, and he has a great, great mindset for fighting.”

Brown is also quick to point out that even a lopsided loss like the one he had against Strickland didn’t end with him down on the canvas and staring up at the lights wondering what just happened.

The same largely goes for the du Plessis fight, although that time Adesanya did get caught in a submission but he didn’t take copious amounts of damage to make it seem like he’s somehow losing a step.

“It wasn’t like he took some brutal knockouts either, right? He lost,” Brown said. “The Strickland one, something seemed a little off but we’ve talked about this before, maybe it’s just Sean. Maybe he’s just a bad matchup, whatever it is.

“I love where Izzy’s head is at. I think this is the perfect matchup to see where he’s at physically. But I think he’s there mentally 100 percent and I love seeing it.”

The fact that Adesanya didn’t blink when the UFC came calling with an offer to fight Imavov in Saudi Arabia in his first non pay-per-view event since 2018 tells Brown a lot about what he expects in this matchup.

Adesanya didn’t complain.

He didn’t turn the fight down.

In fact, Adesanya has embraced this moment and Brown believes that’s a huge sign about what’s going to happen on Saturday.

“I think he just loves to compete,” Brown said. “Doesn’t really care who it’s against and you’ve got to love that. Obviously, the UFC loves that. The fans love that. But what it tells me, he has a good mentality of not letting other people’s opinions affect him [mentally].

“That’s a gigantic thing, especially at the level where he’s at, where everybody’s in his ear. Everybody has an opinion on what he’s doing. He’s getting pulled left and right all the time and to be able to block all that out and stay true to being a martial artist, that’s a powerful dude right there.”