Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has felt somewhat underappreciated despite being one of the sport’s top stars.

Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), who returns to action against Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Fight 271 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, hasn’t elaborated on why he felt that way until now.

Advertisement

“Look at the middleweight division now,” Adesanya told ESPN MMA. “Khamzat (Chimaev) was a very active guy coming up, smoking everybody, fighting multiple times, sometimes twice in a month, even at one point. And now that he’s champion, I’m not sure what the deal is. Is it VISA issues? Injuries? I’m not sure, but now he’s got a fight coming up. You know, the last active champion was me.

“The last guy who put it on the line, regardless, called out the best, was me. So yeah, that’s one thing I can say that people didn’t appreciate until – even I didn’t appreciate until now that I’m here watching it, and I’m like, ‘Damn. This game is slow and just stuck without me.’ That, and I’m sure there’s other things as well, but that’s one thing I can say that people didn’t appreciate, even I might not have appreciated, was how active I was and how much I gave to the game while I was holding the belt.”

Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) won the UFC middleweight crown at UFC 319 in a unanimous decision over Dricus Du Plessis. Chimaev was just recently set for his next bout, which will be against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in May, marking a nearly 9-month gap.

Advertisement

During Adesanya’s first championship reign, he claimed the interim title in April 2019, became undisputed that October, and defended the title five times through July 2022. That’s not to forget his light heavyweight title bid that came in March 2021 as well. He lost the title to Alex Pereira in November 2022, reclaimed gold in April 2023, and dropped the title to Strickland in September 2023.

All told, Adesanya’s championship fight stretch averaged just over five months between fights.

It seemed that “The Last Stylebender” was the one the UFC called when a headliner was needed, and he was more than willing to fulfill that role as one of the most active championship fighters at the time. Reflecting on his run, even Adesanya himself didn’t fully appreciate what it meant to the sport.

Advertisement

In Seattle, Adesanya will look to snap a three-fight skid by getting past Pyfer (15-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), and potentially spark one more title push.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champ Israel Adesanya reveals why he feels underappreciated