For a third straight time, Israel Adesanya was defeated. Stepping into the Octagon after falling to current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 this past summer, the former five-time defending 185-lb king looked to get back on track toward another shot at the throne he once dominantly sat upon. Fighting in his first non-title bout in six years at UFC Saudi Arabia, Israel Adesanya locked horns with surging contender Nassourdine Imavov.
An Early 2025 Trip To Middle East Ends In Another Defeat for Israel Adesanya
For much of the early goings of the contest, Israel Adesanya’s striking looked as sharp as it ever did, landing solid jabs to the Frenchman’s nose and pelting Imavov’s body with kicks. While an uppercut from his opponent did send “The Last Stylebender” back toward the cage a tad, the former champion still managed to take the first round on all three judge’s scorecards.
Despite a swell first stanza, however, Adesanya found himself on the receiving end of a powerful straight from the European, which sent the Nigerian native crumbling to the canvas. Pouncing on his wounded prey, Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) proceeded to rain down shots while on top of Israel Adesanya’s back, forcing the referee to call a stop to the fight, handing the previous middleweight title holder his third straight defeat.
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping On Israel Adesanya’s Further Attempts at UFC Gold
The loss was devastating for Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), as he has yet to see the win column in almost two years since his starching of Alex Pereira to regain his championship. Although a comeback is always possible in combat sports, color commentator Michael Bisping doesn’t believe Adesanya will ever reach the pinnacle of the promotion ever again. Speaking with ESPN (first reported by MMA Fighting), the Englishman gave his honest thoughts on the middleweight phenom’s chances at taking the crown for a third time.
“The biggest takeaway is that it’s over. Israel Adesanya’s reign as champion, I don’t think will come again,” Bisping began. “I say that with the greatest of respect, and I truly mean that. An original, an incredible fighter, a legend of the sport, a future Hall of Famer. But his time at the top is done.”
As a former UFC champion himself, and in the same division as Israel Adesanya, Bisping knows all too well the rigors of what a top-caliber fighter goes through in their training to defeat their competition. The damage adds up, something that “The Count” puts much emphasis on.
“A long career at the highest level has a lot of wear and tear on the body, and not just the fights,” he continued. “The training camps, the training camps are worse than the fights. A fight is won and you might go out there. We’ve seen Israel Adesanya just destroy people, use the leg kicks, just pimp them, beat them easily, but that doesn’t happen in the training camp. Otherwise, you don’t improve. You get worse. You build bad habits.”
Bisping on Wear and Tear For Israel Adesanya
He further goes on to elaborate about accrued damage throughout a career as a professional competitor.
“You need to be getting pushed and get people taking you down, wrestling you, ground and pounding you, choking you out,” he said. “You’re tweaking ankles and legs. You’re taking punches on the chin. When you do this at the highest level, and you train accordingly, that’s what takes its toll on the body. Yes, he’s taking some lumps and bumps inside the octagon, and he took one. But that combined with the years and years of training to get to this level, that’s the problem. That’s the issue.”
Israel Adesanya’s Uncertain Future in MMA
At this point in time, Adesanya now stands on a slippery slope as a resident of the middleweight upper echelon. Going from the highest high to the lowest of lows in just the span of nearly two years, “The Last Stylebender” appears to be more of a shadow of his past self. Whether it is another fight at 185-lb, or even a move up to light heavyweight, 2025 will undoubtedly be a critical year in the career of the New Zealander as he plots his next moves.