Israel Adesanya shares hilarious exchange with coach as he returns to sparring after dropping return hint 

Israel Adesanya recently shared some training pictures on social media and recalled a hilarious exchange with his head coach, Eugene Bareman. The former UFC middleweight champion also shared some footage of him kicking pads.

This past September, Adesanya went up against Sean Strickland in a middleweight title fight at UFC 293. While most expected Adesanya to dominate Strickland and secure another title defense, 'Tarzan' shockingly pushed the Nigerian-born Kiwi to his limits and won the bout via unanimous decision.

In the aftermath, 'The Last Stylebender' hinted that he's taking an extended break from fighting and won't return to the cage before 2027. Given his status as one of the UFC's most active titleholders, his statements took many by surprise.

Last month, Adesanya made a U-turn from his initial statements and revealed that he's planning to return much sooner than 2027. He clarified that his previous return timeline was a joke and should have been taken as such. In a recent interview, he also hinted at suffering from some kind of injury and expects to resume full training by the end of February.

In a recent post on X, the 34-year-old shared some glimpses of his latest training session with coach Bareman and wrote:

"It’s good to see you smiling in the gym again, brother." Best words I’ve heard come my way all day… It wasn’t said by Eugene, lol. He called me a d**khead, and I called him fat. Then we hit pads. Great day today!!

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Daniel Cormier names one opponent who could motivate Israel Adesanya to return

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier recently shared his thoughts on Israel Adesanya potentially being sidelined for an extended period and speculated on which fighter could potentially motivate the former middleweight king to return.

In a recent video uploaded to YouTube, 'DC' named Dricus du Plessis as the most exciting opponent Adesanya could face, and given their history, he could be the one to give the Nigerian-born Kiwi enough reason to make his comeback. He said:

"If you're the UFC, I say you save that fight. You save Adesanya-Du Plessis at all costs. Because I believe that's one that will motivate Israel Adesanya because if you want to know my thoughts, Adesanya did not seem motivated for [Sean] Strickland."

Catch Daniel Cormier's comments below (12:01):

There's no love lost between Adesanya and du Plessis. The two have been feuding for months after the South African fighter made some polarizing comments about Adesanya's African heritage while pulling Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou into it as well.

'The Last Stylebender' promised to get his revenge in the cage. However, du Plessis couldn't make it to UFC 293 due to injury and was replaced by Sean Strickland. 'Stillknocks' and Strickland will square off for the 185-pound championship next weekend in Toronto.