Israel Adesanya can\u2019t win.<\/p>\n
April 2023. That\u2019s the last time \u201cThe Last Stylebender\u201d had his hand raised in victory and while few would fault him for losses to Dricus du Plessis, Sean Strickland, and Nassourdine Imavov, the 36-year-old may have reached a breaking point at UFC Seattle. Joe Pyfer more seized the opportunity to take out a two-time UFC champion, hurting Adesanya on the feet and then finishing with relentless ground-and-pound for a second-round knockout.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s four straight losses now for Adesanya, with his past three telling a familiar story: He\u2019s winning until he isn\u2019t. Adesanya still shows flashes of the star that flirted with two-division supremacy, but with every outing he appears to lose a fraction of a step and the consequences have been costlier and costlier. The path forward for Adesanya is unclear even as he insists that he is not considering retiring from competition just yet.<\/p>\n
What is clear is that in the eyes of the esteemed MMA Fighting panel, Adesanya is no longer a top 10 middleweight. It\u2019s a stunning fall from grace for a fighter that has dominated both the 185-pound and pound-for-pound charts for years, and a reminder that no matter how good you are, if you hang around this game long enough, there\u2019s eventually nowhere to go but down.<\/p>\n
On a brighter note, Adesanya\u2019s drop means two fighters enter the top 10 for the first time. Pyfer, obviously, and PFL champion Costello van Steenis, who continues his unlikely rise up the ranks after scoring a second, more definitive win over Fabian Edwards at PFL Madrid.<\/p>\n