Israel Adesanya fell to a second-round knockout in his UFC return in Saudi Arabia. Video / ESPN
Israel Adesanya’s legacy in the UFC has long been established.
As the only two-time middleweight champion in the promotion’s history, with 12 consecutive title fights, the second-longest winning streak the division has seen and a host of other accolades, there’s no disputing Adesanya’s place as one of the best to ever do it.
“I’ll have to chill and then think about things,” Adesanya told ESPN immediately after the bout.
“I’ll relax first for a little bit, just help the teammates who have fights coming up, then see what I want to do. I was going to do that anyway but now I’m forced to – shout-out to Nassourdine for that.”
He later posted a video on social media of himself watching the fight back, with the caption: “As real as it gets – UFC. Rolled the dice… snake eyes. I’ll be back, gone to get some milk.”
The loss was the third in a row for the Nigerian-Kiwi, and the fourth in his last five bouts, with his last win being an emphatic knockout over current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira to reclaim the middleweight title in 2023.
In his first non-title fight since February 2019 against Imavov, Adesanya looked good through the first round. By using his low kicks effectively, defending Imavov’s takedown attempts, avoiding most of what was being thrown at him and landing some good counters, Adesanya took the opening five minutes on all three judges’ scorecards.
Adesanya was poked in the eye early in the second round as Imavov reached out his hand in defence of an oncoming jab. While referee Marc Goddard stepped in to allow Adesanya time to recover – with fighters allowed up to five minutes to recover from such a foul – the former champion was quick to wave the fight back on.
The finishing sequence began less than 10 seconds later, with Imavov landing a heavy right hand after Adesanya switched stance from southpaw to orthodox. The initial blow sent Adesanya backwards, with the follow-up putting him on the floor. Although he covered up in defence, Imavov rained punches down on him to force Goddard to stop the fight.
Nassourdine Imavov beat Israel Adesanya through a second-round TKO. Photo / Getty Images
Reflecting on the loss, Adesanya pondered the choice he made in the moments before the finish.
“He must be excited to beat a guy like me. I felt good. In round one, I was in control of everything. In hindsight, maybe I should have taken some time [after the eye-poke] – I just didn’t want him to rest because I knew he was tired, so I didn’t want him to rest. But again, [hindsight is] 20/20.”
It will be a disappointing outcome for the “Last Stylebender” and his team from Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym – not just because he lost, but because it came off the back of one of his best training camps in recent years, in a bout he was winning, and the result now leaves him with plenty of work to do if he does want to get back into the title picture.
That all comes with the territory of the sport, where things can change drastically in a single moment.
“Only a privileged few will ever get to this point and understand,” Adesanya said. “To be able to feel something so great but also feel something so deep... It’s a lovely game, but it’s a stupid game at the same time.”
Fellow City Kickboxing fighter Kaan Ofli was also beaten on the Saudi Arabia card, falling to a unanimous decision in his UFC debut against Muhammad Naimov.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
