“Even if we take a hit, like I said, four in a row for me, the equity might be down, but we’re still up over most people who’ve come into this game,” Adesanya told Demetrious Johnson on YouTube (transcribed by Bloody Elbow). “That’s something I don’t want to rest on… my ego is very tied into this; I know what I can do still. For me, I don’t want this to be the writing of my story… this is not how I want to conclude this chapter of my life.”
Adesanya (24-6) went 9-0 under the UFC banner before moving up to light heavyweight, where he fell to Jan Blachowicz in his bid to become double-champ. He later returned to middleweight and rattled off three more title defenses before his wars against longtime rival Alex Pereira, which appeared to signal the beginning of the end.
“The Last Stylebender” is currently unbooked at the time of this writing.