Nigerian-born Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) former two-time middleweight title holder, Israel Adesanya (The Last Style Bender) has been labelled the best ever in his category.
Sports247 reports that the startling commendation is coming from Adesanya’s next opponent, Joe Pyfer, who confessed that he is honoured with the opportunity of fighting the former champ on March 28th.
The fight is meant to be a revival opportunity for Adesanya, but it could also be a slippery outing against an ambitious 29-year-old contender in the main event of UFC Seattle.
In terms of experience, Adesanya carries a healthy advantage – with 29 Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) professional fights to Pyfer’s 18 – which gives ‘The Last Style Bender’ a clear edge on paper.
However, Adesanya has lost his last three fights, while Pyfer won his, which has tipped all betting scales in favour of the younger fighter, who opened on BetMGM with slight favourite odds to win.
Pyfer disclosed on Uncrowned’s ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’ that he had already been preparing to face Paulo Costa, but the chance to take on Adesanya came out of the blue, and he just had to grab it with all he has.
He added, “Izzy was not on the radar, and when they said it, man, I was just grateful. It could have been anybody, but it’s me. It’s little Joey P.
“They came back with the Izzy fight. I was like, ‘Dude, absolutely.’ It’s a win-win. There’s no losing, no matter the result. This is a life-changing moment for me.
“In my opinion, he’s the best middleweight of all time. So, to have that fight knowing he doesn’t have many more left, it’s an honor.”
He continued with a look at his own quality, pointing out that he has enacted some good results of his own and looks forward to achieving more, because he knows many other fighters are well ahead of him.
Pyfer conceded, “To be honest, there many other guys that deserve this fight probably over me. The way my story is, it can’t be written any better.
“All the adversity I’ve had, the journey I’ve been on, the ups, the downs, the sickness, the injuries. I finally get my chance, and it’s fair game.”
 former two-time middleweight title holder, Israel Adesanya){kind=link}