Israel Adesanya failed to return to winning ways on Saturday and was handed his fourth straight UFC loss by the surging Joe Pyfer.
The Nigerian-born Kiwi looked sharp and calculated in the opening stanza of the UFC Seattle main event. He showed incredible takedown defense and footwork, landed precise jabs and calf kicks to push Pyfer on the back foot.
However, in Round 2, Adesanya was walked down by Pyfer, and the latter controlled the pace, showcasing tremendous striking and landing several heavy uppercuts.
In the second half of Round 2, Pyfer dragged Adesanya to the canvas and looked for a rear-naked choke. When that didn’t work out, “Bodybagz” started raining heavy ground and pound on the 37-year-old and bloodied him up.
Adesanya covered up and had no answer to those powerful, heavy blows, forcing the referee to wave it off moments later and declaring Pyfer the winner by TKO in Round 2.
Although many fans and analysts thought that “The Last Stylebender” would bid farewell to the UFC if he lost four in a row, Adesanya, after his TKO loss, made it clear that he won’t retire anytime soon. He said:
“You keep going again and again and again. I’m not f**cing leaving, you’ll never stop me. I might get beaten, but I’ll always remain undefeated.”
Check out Israel Adesanya’s comments below:
Zayn Malik sends a message to Israel Adesanya
Zayn Malik sent a message to the former two-time UFC middleweight champ after the latter’s UFC Seattle loss. Zayn posted on X:
“@stylebender you’re still the goat bro !! ❤️”
Former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou also sent a message to “The Last Stylebender.” Ngannou posted on X:
“Keep your head up @stylebender 🤴🏿🙅🏿♂️”