Israel Adesanya is returning to the Octagon.
Tomorrow morning will see him clash with Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia.
It'll be his first fight since August, when he submitted in the fourth round against Dricus Du Plessis.
UFC on Sky's Ravinder Hunia joins Piney to look at Israel's chances of returning to the winners circle.
“I think the pressure of not having to be fighting for a title is a pressure that he'll probably welcome.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalks EDB throw on one hook in, Let's see
if he's got the two.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
He's got the two.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Plus still god Africauntry Wister plus see remains den what
eighty five? Yeah, So that was the last time he
was in the ring or in the octagon. Rather, you
can watch UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia live on
ESPN and stream on skysport Now from six o'clock tomorrow morning.
(00:41):
Let's bring in Ravender Hernia from UFC on sky Revender,
thanks for taking the time to chat to us. As always,
Israel comes in after losing back to back fights for
the first time in his twenty eight bout professional MMA career.
What sort of mindset and mentality will he bring into
this one?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I think he will come into this obviously wanting a win.
That's what any fighter would want in this situation. But
I think the pressure of not having to be fighting
for a title is a pressure that he probably welcome.
He's been fighting the last twelve fights straight title fights.
I mean, they're still a main event, but it's not
a pay per view, so that pressure is off of him.
(01:19):
He's fighting nazadene Imovov, who is number five in a division,
and he's just made a bit of a name of himself,
having three successful fights last year against top ten guys.
So I think that the pressure is off is either fight,
and I think he can, you know, maybe approach this
fight with a little more freedom.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Do you think he feels he has something to prove
after successive defeats.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Oh? Absolutely, And I think even if he wasn't defeated,
he still feels like he has something to prove it.
You know, that's the name of the game. But I
think for him it'll be motivating, uplifting and a win
could you know, definitely bring up a spirit. But you know,
at the same time, the reality of this one means
that he's another, you know, one fight or two maybe
(02:00):
away from another title shot, which is absolutely where he
would want to be.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I saw some of the media he did in the
lead up to morning, and one of the things he said,
which I thought what was interesting, was this one's for me.
I'm doing this for me. I often fight for other
people from a team, a family, et cetera. This one's
for me. Did that kind of resonate with you as well.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, absolutely, and he hasn't kind of been in that
mindset for a little while. So, you know, when he
fought Sean Strickland, when he fought Dricus Duplasi and was unsuccessful,
you know, he was going through having made a movie,
having you know, things were going on externally for him.
So for him to come into this phone and say
that this is for me and you know, having that
to prove and nothing else kind of you know, being
(02:39):
a hindrance on him makes an absolute difference in terms
of his mindset coming. And even though we know that
when he comes into these fights psychologically he's always so
very strong. Well that's the way he likes to, you know,
perceive himself to the public.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
We just seem to have lost Ravi there right midstream.
We'll get Andy to get her back because we wanted
to get we wanted to get the rest of that.
So we're just trying to get Ravi back on the line.
It's just if we can do that. So tomorrow morning
from six on ESPN as where you can pick up
(03:12):
UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia with Israel Disna fighting
the French with a bit of Russian background. Nasor Deen
Imovov at fight night in Saudi Arabia. I think we've
got Ravi back, so we can bring her back in
I think maybe just a bad reception area or something similar.
(03:33):
So let's yep, we can bring it back. Rabi. We
just lost it there. But I was just going to
ask about whether there was ever a chance in your
mind that Israel might have called her a day. What's
seven years in UFC mighty have called it a day?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah? Possibly, I mean seven years at any job as
a long fought battle. But you know, when you think
about the sport and the demand that that has on
your body and you know where's you're down, it really does.
And then when you kind of get to the pinnacle,
you know, when you're the champion, you've been a champion
for so long, and then you get a couple of
long as you're kind of you know, looking on the
(04:08):
other side of things. So I wouldn't I wouldn't blame him.
You know, obviously, financially he's probably set up for life.
He's helped set a Stanley up too, So what is
there no kind of left to prove? And I think
but now, like you said, he wants to prove something
to himself. It's no longer about you know, I need
to do this for my family, I need to do this,
for the fans to meet, to me, to me, it's
basically just him and the love of the sport.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
So let's talk about his opponent tomorrow. Nasadine Imovov joined
at UFC in twenty twenty a seven two record one
note contest. What sort of fighter is he and what
are the main threats that he poses?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Well, you know, despite being you know, from Dugastan, where
we all know, you know, the best wrestlers in the
world come from, and the likes of kabeb Azarmakachev, he's
very much a stand up fighter. He's based in France
and has you know, come together with a new team
to kind of find Trune no skills, he's a striker,
he's a stand up fighter, but he is quite incompetent
(05:03):
on the ground as well. We saw that against the
likes of Brendan Allen. Brendan Allen in his last fight
is a grappler in the middleweight division and he totally
nullified anything that Brendan Allen brought to him, which shows
that he has great defensive skills. For takedowns. But we
know that Israela Dathsonia doesn't bring that kind of fight either,
so I'm expecting a stand and bang. Nazodi Imovov likes
(05:25):
to fight a little bit shorter. He has a long
reach seventy five, whereas I think is He has the
advantage of five inches there. So I'm expecting a stand
and bang. But Nadin he's not afraid to get into
the pocket, He's not afraid to get close. He's happy to,
you know, have those punches coming his way to give
what he needs to do. He's very slick on with
his boxing, so I'm expecting a stand and bang, But
(05:47):
I wouldn't be surprised coming up against a fighter like
Israela Dathsonia, where we've seen a blueprint there for takedowns. Obviously,
his last fight he lost by a renneckad choke to
drink a Stoplasi, so some ground game could be expected,
but I think Nazadi Imovov will would definitely want to
prove that he has fire in his hand as well
as is He.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Yeah, how big a fight is this for Imovov? Because
I feel like anyone who fights is He, it's a
big fight for them. Maybe their biggest ever fight.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, and you know, on the Shark UFC on Sky
this week, my co host Dan Hooker described it as
life changing for Imovov and he said to us in
an interview that he's been preparing for Israel a dast
when you long before he came into the UFC in
twenty twenty, and of course when we think back at
that time, Israel was at as absolute peak as the champions.
So for Imovov this will be life changing. And to
(06:34):
have a fighter like Israel a desks when you're on
your CV serves you. Well, I don't want to call
israela desk when you're a gatekeeper, but man, a win
over Israel is an absolute you know, he's going to
have his name in title tooks in his next couple
of fights that he can get through Israel. So it's
absolutely life changing if you know Imoov can get the
job done.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
All right, Ravia, Well, just before you go, regardless of
what happens tomorrow morning, Israel adis sonya as thirty five
years old. Now what do you predict for him? How
much longer will he go on?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
That's up to him, you know, like we've seen fighters
go I mean some fighters go up, you know, well
into their forties and you think to yourself, oh jeez,
maybe you should hang up the gloves. But you know,
he's he's one of those fighters when you think of
like and he likened himself early on in his career
like Floyd Mayweather, where he likes to, you know, throw
out hits and not be hit back, you know. So
(07:27):
defense has always been something that has served him well
to not take those huts, which means you know, longevity
in the game. So I mean, it's totally up to him.
But yeah, I just think that that is up to him.
But you know, when you're thinking realistically, like I said before,
in a sport like mma, it does wear you down,
you know. Israel, he's he doesn't have a family, you know,
children or things like that, and that might be an
(07:48):
aspect that he wants to think about too, about settling
down in life outside of the UFC. And he's absolutely
set himself in his family up for life. But no,
I think, you know, I think that this is his
possibly last run at trying to get back on top
and leave on a good note from the UFC's an
absolute superstar and the sport and will be no matter
how long he stays in the game.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
All right, let's see what happens tomorrow morning. Early start
for all of us. Six am coverage starts tomorrow morning
on ESPN and Skysport now Rave thanks for joining us
as always with your great analysis.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Thank you for having me all the best.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Robinda Hernia there you can catch her on UFC on
sky one of the best voices going around in terms
of your knowledge and insight into UFC and mixed martial
arts six am tomorrow morning. UFC Fight Night in Saudi
Arabia featuring Israel ADISONNYA against Nasa Deen Imovoff. It's the
headline act on the card tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk sed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalks EDB throw on one hook in, Let's see
if he's got the two.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
He's got the two.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Plus still god Africauntry Wister plus see remains den what
eighty five? Yeah, So that was the last time he
was in the ring or in the octagon. Rather, you
can watch UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia live on
ESPN and stream on skysport Now from six o'clock tomorrow morning.
(00:41):
Let's bring in Ravender Hernia from UFC on sky Revender,
thanks for taking the time to chat to us. As always,
Israel comes in after losing back to back fights for
the first time in his twenty eight bout professional MMA career.
What sort of mindset and mentality will he bring into
this one?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I think he will come into this obviously wanting a win.
That's what any fighter would want in this situation. But
I think the pressure of not having to be fighting
for a title is a pressure that he probably welcome.
He's been fighting the last twelve fights straight title fights.
I mean, they're still a main event, but it's not
a pay per view, so that pressure is off of him.
(01:19):
He's fighting nazadene Imovov, who is number five in a division,
and he's just made a bit of a name of himself,
having three successful fights last year against top ten guys.
So I think that the pressure is off is either fight,
and I think he can, you know, maybe approach this
fight with a little more freedom.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Do you think he feels he has something to prove
after successive defeats.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Oh? Absolutely, And I think even if he wasn't defeated,
he still feels like he has something to prove it.
You know, that's the name of the game. But I
think for him it'll be motivating, uplifting and a win
could you know, definitely bring up a spirit. But you know,
at the same time, the reality of this one means
that he's another, you know, one fight or two maybe
(02:00):
away from another title shot, which is absolutely where he
would want to be.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I saw some of the media he did in the
lead up to morning, and one of the things he said,
which I thought what was interesting, was this one's for me.
I'm doing this for me. I often fight for other
people from a team, a family, et cetera. This one's
for me. Did that kind of resonate with you as well.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, absolutely, and he hasn't kind of been in that
mindset for a little while. So, you know, when he
fought Sean Strickland, when he fought Dricus Duplasi and was unsuccessful,
you know, he was going through having made a movie,
having you know, things were going on externally for him.
So for him to come into this phone and say
that this is for me and you know, having that
to prove and nothing else kind of you know, being
(02:39):
a hindrance on him makes an absolute difference in terms
of his mindset coming. And even though we know that
when he comes into these fights psychologically he's always so
very strong. Well that's the way he likes to, you know,
perceive himself to the public.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
We just seem to have lost Ravi there right midstream.
We'll get Andy to get her back because we wanted
to get we wanted to get the rest of that.
So we're just trying to get Ravi back on the line.
It's just if we can do that. So tomorrow morning
from six on ESPN as where you can pick up
(03:12):
UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia with Israel Disna fighting
the French with a bit of Russian background. Nasor Deen
Imovov at fight night in Saudi Arabia. I think we've
got Ravi back, so we can bring her back in
I think maybe just a bad reception area or something similar.
(03:33):
So let's yep, we can bring it back. Rabi. We
just lost it there. But I was just going to
ask about whether there was ever a chance in your
mind that Israel might have called her a day. What's
seven years in UFC mighty have called it a day?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah? Possibly, I mean seven years at any job as
a long fought battle. But you know, when you think
about the sport and the demand that that has on
your body and you know where's you're down, it really does.
And then when you kind of get to the pinnacle,
you know, when you're the champion, you've been a champion
for so long, and then you get a couple of
long as you're kind of you know, looking on the
(04:08):
other side of things. So I wouldn't I wouldn't blame him.
You know, obviously, financially he's probably set up for life.
He's helped set a Stanley up too, So what is
there no kind of left to prove? And I think
but now, like you said, he wants to prove something
to himself. It's no longer about you know, I need
to do this for my family, I need to do this,
for the fans to meet, to me, to me, it's
basically just him and the love of the sport.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
So let's talk about his opponent tomorrow. Nasadine Imovov joined
at UFC in twenty twenty a seven two record one
note contest. What sort of fighter is he and what
are the main threats that he poses?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Well, you know, despite being you know, from Dugastan, where
we all know, you know, the best wrestlers in the
world come from, and the likes of kabeb Azarmakachev, he's
very much a stand up fighter. He's based in France
and has you know, come together with a new team
to kind of find Trune no skills, he's a striker,
he's a stand up fighter, but he is quite incompetent
(05:03):
on the ground as well. We saw that against the
likes of Brendan Allen. Brendan Allen in his last fight
is a grappler in the middleweight division and he totally
nullified anything that Brendan Allen brought to him, which shows
that he has great defensive skills. For takedowns. But we
know that Israela Dathsonia doesn't bring that kind of fight either,
so I'm expecting a stand and bang. Nazodi Imovov likes
(05:25):
to fight a little bit shorter. He has a long
reach seventy five, whereas I think is He has the
advantage of five inches there. So I'm expecting a stand
and bang. But Nadin he's not afraid to get into
the pocket, He's not afraid to get close. He's happy to,
you know, have those punches coming his way to give
what he needs to do. He's very slick on with
his boxing, so I'm expecting a stand and bang, But
(05:47):
I wouldn't be surprised coming up against a fighter like
Israela Dathsonia, where we've seen a blueprint there for takedowns. Obviously,
his last fight he lost by a renneckad choke to
drink a Stoplasi, so some ground game could be expected,
but I think Nazadi Imovov will would definitely want to
prove that he has fire in his hand as well
as is He.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Yeah, how big a fight is this for Imovov? Because
I feel like anyone who fights is He, it's a
big fight for them. Maybe their biggest ever fight.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, and you know, on the Shark UFC on Sky
this week, my co host Dan Hooker described it as
life changing for Imovov and he said to us in
an interview that he's been preparing for Israel a dast
when you long before he came into the UFC in
twenty twenty, and of course when we think back at
that time, Israel was at as absolute peak as the champions.
So for Imovov this will be life changing. And to
(06:34):
have a fighter like Israel a desks when you're on
your CV serves you. Well, I don't want to call
israela desk when you're a gatekeeper, but man, a win
over Israel is an absolute you know, he's going to
have his name in title tooks in his next couple
of fights that he can get through Israel. So it's
absolutely life changing if you know Imoov can get the
job done.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
All right, Ravia, Well, just before you go, regardless of
what happens tomorrow morning, Israel adis sonya as thirty five
years old. Now what do you predict for him? How
much longer will he go on?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
That's up to him, you know, like we've seen fighters
go I mean some fighters go up, you know, well
into their forties and you think to yourself, oh jeez,
maybe you should hang up the gloves. But you know,
he's he's one of those fighters when you think of
like and he likened himself early on in his career
like Floyd Mayweather, where he likes to, you know, throw
out hits and not be hit back, you know. So
(07:27):
defense has always been something that has served him well
to not take those huts, which means you know, longevity
in the game. So I mean, it's totally up to him.
But yeah, I just think that that is up to him.
But you know, when you're thinking realistically, like I said before,
in a sport like mma, it does wear you down,
you know. Israel, he's he doesn't have a family, you know,
children or things like that, and that might be an
(07:48):
aspect that he wants to think about too, about settling
down in life outside of the UFC. And he's absolutely
set himself in his family up for life. But no,
I think, you know, I think that this is his
possibly last run at trying to get back on top
and leave on a good note from the UFC's an
absolute superstar and the sport and will be no matter
how long he stays in the game.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
All right, let's see what happens tomorrow morning. Early start
for all of us. Six am coverage starts tomorrow morning
on ESPN and Skysport now Rave thanks for joining us
as always with your great analysis.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Thank you for having me all the best.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Robinda Hernia there you can catch her on UFC on
sky one of the best voices going around in terms
of your knowledge and insight into UFC and mixed martial
arts six am tomorrow morning. UFC Fight Night in Saudi
Arabia featuring Israel ADISONNYA against Nasa Deen Imovoff. It's the
headline act on the card tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk sed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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