It was doing-of-that for Israel Adesanya when he took on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately for 'The Last Stylebender' he went on his shield and does not expect to easily reach the top of the middleweight.
IMAVOV hit Adesanya with a fresh right hand in the second round. The former middleweight champion is now running a three-field losing series, after he has lost his first non-title fight since 2019.
Adesanya is uncertain about his next steps, but he knows that he will probably not get a crack in the middleweight title soon.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty images
'I don't expect it' … Israel Adesanya becomes brutally honest on his UFC title Future
Speaking on his YouTube channel on February 21, Adesanya gave his honest evaluation of whether he will challenge a UFC title in the future.
“I have a title shot in mind for the future … no,” Adesanya laughed. “………… When I arrived at the UFC, I never chased the belt; I expected it. [Du Plessis] I am fighting that I thought: 'Oh yes. Cool, it will [the title] Come by, I don't have to chase it because I expect it.
“. . . But after this fight [with Imavov] I'm just from: 'Do you know what? I don't expect anything. I don't expect to be the champion again. 'Like I said, if what I did in this game, don't make me happy, what will it be? So I don't expect it. When it comes, I take it with both hands … “
Adesanya's Fall From Grace is just one of the many similar stories in the UFC and MMA as a whole.
The rise and fall of large 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 in all combat sports, they have a collective 1-8 record. In particular, USMAN broke a slip of three losses after driving on an unbeaten streak of 19 fights.
A similar fate of former former former interim light weight champion Tony Ferguson, who went directly from a 12-Fight-winning series in an eight-fighting streak. Alexander Volkanovski prepared his claim as one of the largest pound-for-pounds of greatest hunters in the history of UFC losing back-to-back knockout against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.
Henry Cejudo, who Vecht this weekend in UFC Seattle, was one of the groundbreaking double champions in the UFC and was the second ever to defend his both belts. Now he drives on a two-fighter loss streak and he would suffer a similar fate as Adesanya with a loss for Song Yadong.
Unfortunately, happy endings are rare in MMA; Fighters pull themselves on top of whether a new generation is rinsing about them.
Comments