Nigerian-born former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Israel Adesanya will have a stern test to his status this Saturday, as he faces a much younger and ‘potential banana peel opponent,’ Joe Pyfer in Seattle, USA.
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Sports247 reports that Adesanya steps back into The Octagon after slumping to three straight defeats, which have put him at a disadvantage against Pyfer, who is regarded as the biggest up and coming prospect in the UFC.
Fight experts have warned ‘The Last Style Bender’ that he’s in for a decisive night, as Pyfer has been on a fast track since the start of his UFC career and is currently on a very strong three-fight winning streak.
Although the 29-year-old Pyfer came unstuck when he stepped out against former perennial middleweight contender, Jack Hermansson in early 2024, he has since matured and many pundits have given him the edge against Adesanya.
Incidentally, as both fighters get set for the main event of UFC Seattle this Saturday, many pundits are talking about retirement for Adesanya, with questions continuously arising around the legendary fighter’s durability at age 36.
However, statistics speak in favour of Adesanya, whose haul of 25 professional fights saw him lose only once at his natural weight of 185 pounds, before slumping twice at a higher scale, such that he still remains a big threat for his assailant.
Pyfer, who has lost three fights, conceded, “I think he’s always had the same chin. If that was the case, you could go all the way back to when he got left hook flatlined in kickboxing and be like, ‘He can’t take a punch.’ He’s taken shots.
“If you look at even Alex Pereira’s shots, who you know is one of the hardest hitters in the UFC, he was taking a lot of those shots, and he still didn’t get put out on one shot. He’s never been put out flat besides just that one time.
“He’s been rocked and TKO’d, so I don’t look too much into it. I do think that I have the power that could flatline him. But I gotta get to him. I expect a very good version of him. Maybe his chin is gone. Only he knows that.”
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