Israel Adesanya has dropped four straight fights, but he’s not ready to hang up the gloves just yet.
Adesanya was knocked out by Joe Pyfer in round two of UFC Seattle, marking his fourth straight defeat inside the Octagon.
The former champion hasn’t won a fight since his split-decision victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 back in February 2022.
Israel Adesanya says he understands the frustration from his fans, but has no plans to retire
After seeing Adesanya lose back-to-back fights by knockout, plenty of fans were quick to call for the 36-year-old to retire. But Adesanya wasted no time in addressing the speculation, shutting down any talk of retirement before even leaving the cage, and hasn’t wavered since.
In an Instagram post, the former champion acknowledged how hard it must be for his supporters to watch him struggle but pointed out that it’s even tougher for him.
He made it clear he plans to rebuild and come back stronger. “I know it’s hard on my people seeing me fall,” Adesanya wrote. “I promise you it’s harder on me.”
“Regardless, we respawn and go again.”
There are some worried that Adesanya might end up finishing his UFC career in a similar way to fellow middleweight legend Anderson Silva. ‘The Spider’ lost five of his last six fights before being released.
Joe Pyfer was ranked 14th in the division before their fight in Seattle, and following his win, is expected to move up when the rankings update on Tuesday.
The defeat also means Adesanya is likely going to drop further down in the pecking order. However, ahead of his loss this weekend, he admitted returning to title contention is not what motivates him anymore.
