How the mighty have fallen! Israel Adesanya, once the king of the middleweight division, has been dethroned in more ways than one. The UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings have always been a hot topic among fight fans. Until recently, ‘The Last Stylebender’ had been on the list.
But things change fast in the fight game. Adesanya’s recent struggles have caught up with him as the UFC quietly removed him from their top 15 pound-for-pound list this week. It’s a far cry from the #2 spot he once held. Aljamain Sterling took his spot in the rankings.
Before the fight against Dricus Du Plessis, he was ranked #13 in the men’s P4P rankings. But unfortunately for him, the fight went to ‘Stillknocks.’ This meant that he had now lost three of his last four fights, relinquishing his place in the list.
Adesanya’s striking was like poetry in motion, and he seemed untouchable. But cracks started to show when he lost to Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight. Then Alex Pereira knocked him out. And then came his biggest loss, when the heavy underdog Sean Strickland outpointed him. And now his latest loss to Du Plessis.
Adesanya’s fall from grace is a reminder of how unforgiving MMA can be. One day, the fighter is in the GOAT conversation, and the next, they struggle to stay relevant.
Israel Adesanya Reveals The Mistake That Cost Him UFC 305 Fight
The former middleweight champion recently opened up about his UFC 305 loss. It’s not often fans get such candid insights from fighters. But ‘The Last Stylebender’ has always been a bit different. He faced Dricus du Plessis in a highly anticipated matchup, and the fight was a back-and-forth brawl that had fans on the edge of their seats until it wasn’t.
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In the fourth round, everything changed. Du Plessis caught Adesanya with a flurry of punches. Then, he locked in a rear-naked choke for the win. But Adesanya claimed those punches didn’t rock him.
“I think I slipped and I was like, ‘What the f*ck was that?’ and then he was trying to catch me as I was exiting…I tried to fight the top hand, and I don’t know what mistake I made because I tried to turn into him, but then he got on my back because I was using the fence maybe? He switched to a Gable grip and then I wasn’t able to separate the hands like I wanted to,” said Adesanya at the post-fight press conference.
This alleged slip-up gave du Plessis the opening he needed, and he capitalized on it. Israel Adesanya’s honesty is refreshing. He’s not making excuses or crying foul and is owning his mistake. So what’s next for ‘The Last Stylebender?’ Only time will tell.
