Israel Adesanya just lost his last fight against Nassourdine Imavov last week. This is the first time in his career that he’s on a three-fight losing streak, with questions being raised about whether his days in the octagon are now behind him. It will be a sad day for MMA if that is the case for Adesanya is one of the best fighters to ever exist. Even his greatest rival Alex Pereira had said as much.
It can be argued that Izzy’s spiral from the top started when Pereira beat him for the middleweight title at UFC 281. This would be the third time he had lost to Pereira, the first two being in kickboxing back in the day. Sure, he took the title back at UFC 287 with a swift KO victory, but he’s never been the same fighter since.
In the aftermath of his latest loss, ESPN’s MMA page posted a picture of their encounter from 8 years ago, with a tweet from the light heavyweight champion calling Izzy the ‘best fighter’ he ever fought.
“Keep your head up, Israel Adesanya, you are the best fighter I ever faced.”
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And it might very well be god’s honest truth. It took a few years but to this day, fighting Adesanya is the only time Pereira has been knocked out cold inside the octagon!
It’s funny how people STILL think Adesanya dropped Pereira using his “power”
Pereira threw a wide hook and got caught with a hook whilst in motion
Not power, it’s momentum. pic.twitter.com/jU8a6X9biK
— Aj (@AjDuxche) February 10, 2024
But that is not the only testament to Izzy’s greatness.
Adesanya’s trail of titles
It should be noted that despite losing against Imavov or Dricus du Plessis, Adesanya didn’t exactly look slow or different. He just got caught, which is not that surprising. Du Plessis catches everyone! And Imavov is a great fighter. The layman might not have heard of him as much as they would have wanted, but he is a powerful striker on the rise at 185.
Before getting caught by Imavov, Izzy was lighting him up, exactly like he was doing to Du Plessis; exactly how he had done to the many before them.
He’s been in 12 title fights and 5 of them have been successful defenses. During this time, he fought and won against GOAT fighter Anderson Silva. It was never meant to be a passing of the torch moment, but Izzy didn’t exactly leave Silva with a choice.
43 anos, sem lutar há dois e voltando de suspensão por doping, Anderson Silva deu um show de esquivas contra Israel Adesanya. Perdeu por pontos contra um adversário mais novo e voando, mas fez bonito.
Showman! Spider faz falta no UFC! ️
— Igor Ribeiro (@igorribeiromma) December 13, 2024
Izzy followed this up by racking up wins against Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, and Kevin Gastelum among others. Can he do it again? Probably not, but it’s not because he’s had a sudden downfall like the internet suggests. Right now, all Adesanya needs to do is take a break, a breather, and figure out how he wants to approach the fight game.
He’s already made everything that was to be made from martial arts, a name, career, fortune, and a legacy. Even if he quits today, or fights again and loses, it still wouldn’t make a crease on his certificate of greatness.
