Israel Adesanya is a much better fighter since his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, according to City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman.
Adesanya came up short in his bid to become a two-division champion when he took on Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title last year and, although he lost the fight via unanimous decision, Bareman says the loss was actually a good thing for Adesanya in the long-run.
“Absolutely not,” Bareman said on The MMA Hour ahead of Adesanya’s rematch with Robert Whittaker (h/t MMA Fighting). “That was an opportunity that presented itself, and the only thing that I would regret now — and Israel would regret it too — is if we hadn’t taken that opportunity.