1 week ago
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Nigerian-born UFC former Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has dropped out of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, ending a five-year streak.
The removal of Israel Adesanya from the rankings came after his loss to Du Plessis at UFC 305, where he was forced into submission in the fourth round of their highly anticipated middleweight title fight.
Adesanya’s latest defeat came following a year-long break from the sport after surprisingly losing his belt to Sean Strickland.
Adesanya, a long-standing presence in the UFC’s top 15, is now facing an uncertain future as he considers his next steps in the sport.
Known for his striking abilities and charismatic personality, the former champion had set his sights on reclaiming the middleweight crown but was outmatched by Du Plessis, who exploited a ground-game error by Adesanya to secure a rear-naked choke submission.
Adesanya, formerly a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter since September 2nd, 2019, has been replaced in the rankings by Aljamain Sterling. Islam Makhachev and Alex Pereira currently hold the top rankings.
Despite this setback, those close to Israel Adesanya suggest that his main focus might not be on the rankings. Instead, the fighter’s attention is on proving himself to the watching world and potentially staging a comeback.
While the 35-year-old fighter’s future in the division remains uncertain, his coach, Eugene Bareman, has hinted at a possible return in 2024, indicating that ‘The Last Stylebender’ might not be finished just yet.
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