Former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero has laid out some words of wisdom for a struggling ex-foe of his.
Israel Adesanya once ruled over the 185-pound division with an iron fist and surged toward legendary status on mixed martial arts' biggest stage. But he's currently enduring the worst run of his career to date.
"The Last Stylebender" has won just once since 2022, with four of his last five bouts ending in defeat. The Nigerian-New Zealander most recently made an unsuccessful return to non-title competition following losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. He was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov at the UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia early last month.
It remains to be seen what lies ahead for Adesanya. While some in the community have advised retirement, one face familiar to the Lagos-born star has outlined a potential path for the former champ to get back to his best.
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Yoel Romero sent some advice the way of Adesanya, stressing the importance of rest and recovery.
Israel, he needed time, he needed rest," Romero said. "That's what I think. He needs to rest a little bit, because too much damage. The problem is, the UFC (doesn't) give you time. When the UFC calls you, you need to come because you have a contract.
Now, he needs to think about training. Not too hard; not too hard in the sparring," Romero continued. "He needs to go to training like a therapy; recovery for the body. He doesn't need now too much sparring. That is my opinion for Israel. If he wants to be back again, he needs to recover the body. He's still training very hard; it's not good.
Adesanya defended the middleweight title against Romero at UFC 248 in early 2020. The highly anticipated clash turned out to be a lackluster contest across five rounds that was firmly overshadowed by the co-main event war between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
While "The Last Stylebender" looks to regain his winning form in the UFC, Romero is days away from his second fight for Mike Perry's Dirty Boxing Championship this weekend.
"Soldier of God" is also expected to face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the Global Fight League, though dates and venues for the new promotion's first events remain undisclosed.