Tag: Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya will return to the cage at the end of March as the former two-time UFC middleweight champion bids to get back in the win column against Joe Pyfer after a three-fight slip.

Adesanya (24-5, 16 KOs) is one of the UFC’s most recognisable fighters but has slipped down the 185lb rankings after a run of just one win in five bouts since late 2022.

 “The Last Stylebender” suffered a damning second-round knockout to French contender Nassourdine Imavov last February and has not fought since.

The 36-year-old will now get the chance to spark a late-career renaissance when he takes on hard-hitting American Pyfer (13-5, 9 KOs), who has been steadily making his name and now stares down the barrel of his biggest opportunity in the UFC yet.

Pyfer, 29, is vying for his fourth consecutive win in the UFC and comes into the bout off the back of a submission victory over Abus Magomedov on the undercard of UFC 320 in October.

He will face Adesanya in the main event of UFC Seattle on 28 March in what could prove a pivotal bout in deciding the Australian’s fighting future, with murmurs of retirement lingering around Adesanya’s name for the past year.

It will be just the second time Adesanya has fought without gold being on the line since February 2019 after competing in 12 consecutive title matches, successfully defending his middleweight strap six times before being dethroned by Alex Pereira in November 2022.

He won the title back from current light heavyweight champion “Poatan” in the rematch but subsequently lost his next outing to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, before failing in his challenge to Dricus Du Plessis in August 2024.

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Elsewhere on the card for Seattle, former women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso (16-5-1) will renew hostilities with Maycee Barber (15-2).

Grasso is one of only two people to have beaten Barber in her professional career, picking up the unanimous decision win when the pair first clashed in 2021.

The Mexican 32-year-old enjoyed an 18-month long reign at the top of the women’s flyweight division after putting a rare blotch on Valentina Shevchenko’s legacy by dethroning “Bullet”, before clinging onto her title when their first rematch was ruled a draw.

Shevchenko reclaimed the gold in their trilogy outing in September 2024 and Grasso has failed to get back into the win column since, losing her next fight to Natalia Silva.

In a highly charged main event at UFC 305, South African fighter  Dricus Du Plessis, ‘submitted’  the Nigerian-born former champion, Israel Adesanya,  in the fourth round to retain his  middleweight title  inside RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia yesterday.

The grudge match, which had been fuelled by pre-fight tensions over race and identity, culminated in a dramatic turn of events as Du Plessis secured the victory with a “rear naked choke.” 

Adesanya, a former two-time champion, came into the fight determined to reclaim the belt he lost to Sean Strickland last September and had it going his way heading into the fourth round leading 2-1 on the scorecards. 

However, Du Plessis turned the tide with a series of powerful hooks and jabs, followed by a decisive takedown and lock in Adesanya into the choke, the Nigerian-born fighter had no choice but to submit.

It was the first time Nigerian-New Zealander Adesanya was submitted in his professional MMA career, which stands at 24 wins and four losses. South Africa’s Du Plessis, who has won all eight of his fights since joining the UFC, progressed to 21-2.

“I always knew if I’m in trouble fighting one of the, if not the best strikers ever in this division, I need that takedown,” Du Plessis said after his first title defence since winning the belt in January. “This man is the king of getting back up. No one can take him down and keep him there.”

Read Also: UFC 305: Du Plessis retains middleweight title with submission victory over Israel Adesanya

Du Plessis had taken Adesanya down in the second round and attempted to choke him, but the challenger got back up and ripped into Du Plessis with kicks and punches to the body in the third round.

“Believe me, I do not want to get kicked by that man again,” Du Plessis said. “Izzy, if you decide to retire tonight, thank you.”

Adesanya, who has now lost three of his last four fights, said he intended to keep going.

“I just made a stupid, dumb mistake,” he said. “I’m 35, I’m doing the right things… watch this, I’m not leaving.”