Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has been told to take some time off from the sport to improve his game after losing his belt.
Adesanya had never lost at 185lb before his shock defeat by long-time kickboxing rival Alex Pereira last month at UFC 281 in New York. He was dominating the fight until getting clipped in the fifth round and ultimately ending up being stopped - his third time losing to the Brazilian after two defeats in their kickboxing days.
In a new YouTube video, former two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo has given Adesanya his advice for what he should do as a challenger, telling him to take time off and train. Adesanya was an active defending champion, competing three times this year and twice in 2021 despite coronavirus restrictions limiting his output.
"I think Israel needs to take a break," Cejudo said. "I think Israel needs to get better. I think Israel needs to add to his game, to his grappling, to his wrestling, to all that. So, if I was Robert Whittaker, I would really be stepping on the toes of Alex Pereira. I would really be making a scene. I would be asking for it, I would be calling him out."
The former bantamweight and flyweight champion reckons that Whittaker, who lost twice to Adesanya over the past few years, would actually be favourite against Pereira. The middleweight champion is still relatively inexperienced in MMA, having fought just eight times since moving over from kickboxing.
"In my opinion, Robert Whittaker could beat [Pereira]," Cejudo added. "He really can. Just based on styles of the fight, Robert could take him down, Robert is more strategic. He has more lateral movements. Let these guys go to war. You chill out, you hang out, and then eventually get the winner of that, if I was Israel."
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Pereira first fought Adesanya in kickboxing in April 2016, losing a controversial decision. They fought again in a rematch the following March, and despite dominating the majority of the contest, he was caught by the Brazilian and knocked out in brutal fashion.
The UFC middleweight division is likely to open up more with Pereira as champion, after Adesanya had essentially wiped out the competition. He twice defeated Whittaker and Marvin Vettori, while also defeating the other two members of the top five, Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson.
Adesanya had only lost once in his MMA career prior to facing Pereira in the Octagon, dropping a decision to Jan Blachowicz in his effort to become two-weight champion at light-heavyweight. There is a 20lb gap between the divisions, and despite weighing in with a pizza box in hand, he was almost 5lb under the limit for the division, while Blachowicz made a brutal cut to make 205lb.
