Israel Adesanya’s losing streak has been tough to watch—not just for his fans but even for some of his peers. The former UFC middleweight champion, once one of the most dominant forces in the sport, has now lost three straight fights, including a brutal knockout against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia.
One unexpected person who feels for Adesanya is top UFC flyweight Manel Kape.
The tension between Kape and Adesanya dates back to September 2023, just before UFC 293. Kape was originally scheduled to fight Adesanya’s teammate, Kai Kara-France, but about three weeks before the event, Kara-France had to withdraw due to a concussion. At the event’s press conference, he showed up to support Adesanya, and that’s when things escalated.
Kape spotted his would-be opponent in the crowd and immediately started going off, calling him out for pulling out of their fight. His rant quickly turned heated as he accused Kiwi flyweight of being scared and insulted him for not taking the fight despite having a few weeks to prepare.
Things got even more intense when Kape threw a water bottle at Kara-France, which prompted Adesanya to step in. It was then that Adesanya felt he had had enough and fired back at Kape, telling him to sit down and show some respect.
Despite all this bad blood, Kape has now admitted that watching a fighter of Adesanya’s caliber fall from grace has been disheartening. He also noted that Adesanya was actually doing well in his last fight before things took a turn for the worse, making the loss even harder to watch.
“I’m sad about Izzy, his last fight, I’m really sad,” he said.
“We had the beef but he’s a legend you know… because you see a legend like him falling down that way, it’s pretty sad you know. I never wish anything for any man,” the Angolian flyweight added with a hint of pity in his voice.
Manel Kape talks about Israel Adesanya’s last fight:
“I’m sad about Izzy, [and] his last fight. We had a beef, but he’s a legend.
You see a legend like him falling down that way, it’s pretty sad.”
@MightyMouse ▫️ pic.twitter.com/1pX797nwFB
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 26, 2025
It’s not just Kape who is concerned for ‘The Last Stylebender‘. Longtime fans of the former middleweight champion are going out of their way to let him know that it is time to hang up his gloves. But Izzy, being the warrior he is, is fighting back
Israel Adesanya counters ‘washed’ comments
‘The Last Stylebender’ has won just one fight in his last 5 fights. Following his KO win over Alex Pereira at UFC 287, he lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Not just that, he got dominated unlike ever before in his career.
Adesanya would take an extended break and return to fight Dricus du Plessis in another shot at the title at UFC 305 amidst much hullabaloo over the status of the ‘real African champion’. He would fare better against du Plessis but eventually get caught in a takedown and be submitted by the South African champion.
Following this, Adesanya would return to the Apex for the first time in a long time in a clash with Nassouridine Imavov. He would once again look better than before but get caught with a powerful right that would force the referee to stop the fight.
This would lead to widespread criticism that continues to this day.
However, despite the negative nellies, Adesanya isn’t letting anything get to him, especially any claims of him being ‘washed.’
During a Q&A on his YouTube channel, he clapped back at the critics, saying, “They call me washed, but how are you gonna call me washed when you haven’t even been in the laundry? Like, you haven’t gotten dirty. What have you done? That’s bars.”
Adesanya remains one of the most accomplished middleweights in UFC history. It is true that he may not be the same championship fighter he once was ,but there’s still a role he can play in the 185 lbs. division. Should he return, Adesanya would make for an exemplary gatekeeper for any new prospect who wishes to challenge for the title someday.
