Israel Adesanya’s shocking loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia makes it the first time in his career that he has been on a 3-fight losing streak. However, according to UFC veteran Din Thomas, it’s not that surprising. The fall of a dominant champion is as inevitable as Thanos. Unless you are Jon Jones, of course, he asserts.
According to Thomas, reaching the top of the sport is an incredible challenge, but staying there is even harder. Emphasizing it as a natural part of an athlete’s journey, and pointing out that the key is how they bounce back, Thomas says,
“Well that is just the thing. You know when you make it to the top, he (Adesanya) is done right, in my opinion at the top top. But it happens to everybody, no one escapes that except for Jon Jones. They are all on Mount Rushmore. Even Anderson Silva fell off, it happens to everybody. If you make it to the top, it comes crashing down.”
“This might be a bad message to send to fighters, but if you make it to the top, it comes crashing down.”@DinThomas & @AlanJouban discuss the future for Israel Adesanya after his loss at #UFCSaudiArabia
Source: MMA Today w/Din Thomas & Alan Jouban pic.twitter.com/w7QYXbM5RO
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 4, 2025
Athletes, no matter the sport, experience a sharp decline after reaching the pinnacle of their careers. But combat sports are so primal in nature that the impact is drastic even with a little slowing of the senses. Unfortunately, fighters only realize that after they are in the octagon, and it’s too late.
Take Kamaru Usman, for example. After a remarkable 15-fight win streak, he faced a series of setbacks, including a knockout loss to Leon Edwards and subsequent defeats to Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad. Tony Ferguson, in his prime, was on a 12-fight win streak but left the UFC after losing his last 8 fights.
Usman hasn’t fought since his loss to Edwards and Tony is pursuing a career in GFL, promising a return to his prime days. But what about Adesanya? Is he already planning another campaign? Or has his hunger been satiated?
Adesanya breaks his silence after a crushing loss
Adesanya is going through uncharted territory in his career. It’s not like he’s been looking completely out of sorts inside the octagon. Two of his three losses saw him mount strong challenges. It’s just… he gets caught and then before anyone can gasp, it’s nights out.
His senses might be betraying him a little or maybe he’s been figured out. Or perhaps, this is an anomaly. After all, Dricus du Plessis is a freak of nature and tends to shock his opponents into submission. And last week, Imavov was getting lit up by Izzy in the first round before turning the tides with one punch.
But what does this mean for Adesanya? At this point in his career, it is unlikely that another title shot is on the horizon unless he suddenly rediscovers his mojo and leaves a trail of opponents in his wake.
Adesanya doesn’t know if he is willing to do that just yet. When he was asked about it during an interview after the fight, the former middleweight champion just claimed that he was going to take a break and clear his head first.
When he returns, perhaps he will take up a new role as the 185 lbs gatekeeper and make life difficult for the next generation of champions. Whatever happens from here, there’s no doubt that Adesanya’s legacy remains untouched.
