McGregor Reacts To Adesanya's Break From The Octagon

In some MMA news, Conor McGregor has reacted to the news that Israel Adesanya will be taking a break from fighting in the octagon.

Adesanya’s last bout was against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 as the latter pulled off a shock to beat the, then, UFC middleweight champion.

The win came via a unanimous decision as Adesanya managed to walk down his opponent with ease. And in the process of doing so, Strickland dropped Adesanya as the latter had no answer to the barrage that was coming his way.

In the aftermath, Adesanya vowed to only fight for ‘fun’ as it was clear that the focus was no longer for belts. And now that the dust has settled down somewhat, Adesanya had this to say.

"Fourteen months, four fights – as a champion. Find any other champion aside from me and Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] who is as active as that. I don’t make any excuses – Strickland got me on the night because he was a better fighter on the night and he did his work well, had a good team behind him, but now I’m going to take time for myself and I’m not going to fight for a long time.

"I’m definitely not going to retire because I know me, but if I did, I’m fine. I don’t need to prove anything else, but I know what I can do and what I can change in my lifestyle to make my body adapt to where I need to be. I’m going to heal myself up and you won’t see me fight for a long time… then, when I come back, f***ing run for the hills," Adesanya

Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that Adesanya would ever return back in the same form. Previous fighters have shown that they have never been the same following a major defeated and then some time out of the cage.

Those comments can be resonated with by McGregor, who has had his fair share of time away from the cage. Following his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, the Notorious suffered a broken leg which has kept him out of the cage for around two years.

However, following the news that he has enrolled into USADA, McGregor is expected to return to fighting in 2024.

Although an opponent has not been confirmed, McGregor understood Adesanya’s mindset having gone through his own period away from the octagon.

And yet, during this period, McGregor did lose the last three of his four UFC fights. And it no longer Appears that the Irishman will be getting a title shot anytime soon. But for Adesanya, the Irishman felt it was the right course of action.

"Big glove boxing sparring rounds in an enclosed ring and you are doing Sean [Strickland] in with a hand behind your back, lad. Rest up. And then come back and get that belt back. And [Alex] volk couldn’t hold my spit bucket," McGregor stated