Several piercing questions are being hurled at Nigerian-born former middleweight title holder in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Israel Adesanya, as he gets ready to step into The Octagon against Joe Pyfer.
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Sports247 reports that, while Adesanya is rated high as a veteran of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and his opponent is still growing up through the ranks, critics are wont to argue that age is no longer of the side of the former champion.
Another factor contending against ‘The Last Style Bender’ ahead of the main event at UFC Seattle is the fact that he lost his last three fights in The Octagon, which tends to buttress the belief that the New Zealand-based fighter is past his prime.
Incidentally, Adesanya’s last two defeats came when he returned to his natural class at middleweight from the tougher light heavyweight category, which has also left many pundits tipping him to lose on Saturday against Pyfer.
The simple permutation for many of them is that Pyfer is ‘a natural middleweight,’ but Adesanya has struggled after returning to that level, hence the verdict that the Nigerian-born fighter will hardly stand any chance against his much younger opponent.
A writer with Yahoo Sports’ Uncrowned column, Drake Riggs noted at length: “A two-time former middleweight UFC champion, Adesanya has failed to find victory since being dethroned by Sean Strickland in September 2023.
“That loss started the slide of ‘The Last Stylebender,’ while Philadelphia-born Pyfer has found his stride following his failed main event effort against Jack Hermansson in 2024.
“A Pyfer win at UFC Seattle would further shuffle the deck at 185 pounds, but Adesanya has only lost to the cream of the crop, making him a pivotal guard right now to the division’s elite.
“However, against someone as technically sound and sharp as the all-time great Adesanya, we’ve seen front-foot aggressors run into serious problems. That’s what makes this fight compelling.
“Adesanya suffered a stunning stoppage loss to Nassourdine Imavov in his last time out. Very few steps have been lost by Adesanya, though his chin, arguably, has finally taken enough – and that was against a less powerful striker than Pyfer.”
The lingering question now is: Will a fading Adesanya, who has lost five career fights, overcome a younger Pyfer, who has only three defeats?
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