Israel Adesanya, the two-time UFC middleweight champion, has emphasized that despite a string of losses, he is not giving up on his career.
The Nigerian-born Australian fighter Israel Adesanya dropped two spots to fourth in the official UFC rankings after losing to Nassourdine Imavov via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 250 in Saudi Arabia.
Given that this is Israel Adesanya’s third straight loss in almost a year, it’s a difficult time for him.
Because of this, there have been notable changes in the middleweight rankings, with Imavov moving up to the second position, just ahead of Khamzat Chimaev.
According to MMA reporter John Morgan, Chimaev is anticipated to challenge the victor of the forthcoming championship rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, notwithstanding Imavov’s ascent.
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Adesanya went into the fight hoping to end his run of consecutive defeats. Last August, he suffered another defeat at UFC 305 against du Plessis after losing his title to Strickland at UFC 293.
Adesanya began the fight against Imavov strong, scoring a number of successful low kicks, but the referee had to step in when he was struck by a big right hand and a left uppercut.
For the first time in his six-year career and twelve fights, Adesanya is competing without a UFC title on the line, which represents a significant turning point in his career. Over the course of his 13-year MMA career, he has already recorded 24 victories, including 16 knockouts, and four losses.
New competitors have also entered the middleweight class; bright prospect Bo Nickal made his rankings debut at No. 15, while Roman Kopylov made his debut at No. 14 following his TKO victory over Chris Curtis in January.
Adesanya showed resiliency after the fight by posting on his official X page, “As real as it gets, @ufc.” Snake eyes when the dice were rolled. I’m going to get some milk and will return.
