Israel Adesanya admits he doesn't expect to fight for a UFC title again after losing three in a row
02/21/2025 06:14 AM
It was do-or-die for Israel Adesanya as he took on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately for ‘The Last Stylebender,’ he went out on his shield and doesn’t anticipate reaching the top of middleweight anytime soon.
Imavov knocked out Adesanya with a crisp right hand in the second round. The former middleweight champion now rides a three-fight losing streak, having lost his first non-title fight since 2019.
Adesanya is unsure about his next steps, but he knows he probably won’t get another crack at the middleweight title any time soon.
‘I’m not expecting it’ … Israel Adesanya gets brutally honest on his UFC title future
Speaking on his YouTube channel on February 21, Adesanya gave his honest evaluation of whether he’ll challenge for a UFC title in the future.
“Do I have a title shot in mind for the future… No, “Adesanya laughed. “. . . When I got to the UFC, I never chased the belt; I expected it. . . . After the [Du Plessis] fight I remember thinking, ‘Oh well. Cool, It’ll [the title] come around, I don’t have to chase it, because I expect it.
“. . . But after this fight [with Imavov] I’m just like, ‘You know what? I’m not expecting anything. I’m not expecting to be the champion again.’ Like I said, if what I’ve done in this game doesn’t make me happy already, what will? So I’m not expecting it. If it comes, I’ll take it with both hands…”
Adesanya’s fall from grace is just one of many similar stories in the UFC and MMA as a whole.
The rise and fall of great UFC champions
Adesanya shared a brotherhood with Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou when they were dominant champions in the UFC. In their combined last three fights across all combat sports, they have a collective 1-8 record. Most notably, Usman hit a skid of three losses after riding a 19-fight unbeaten streak.
A similar fate befell former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, who went from a 12-fight winning streak straight into an eight-fight losing streak. Alexander Volkanovski was staking his claim as one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters in UFC history before back-to-back knockout losses against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.
Henry Cejudo, who fights at UFC Seattle this weekend, was one of the pioneering double champions in the UFC and was the second-ever to defend both his belts. Now, he rides a two-fight losing streak and would suffer a similar fate to Adesanya with a loss to Song Yadong.
Unfortunately, happy endings are rare in MMA; fighters either retire on top or a new generation of competition washes over them.
