Two-time UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has hinted that he might consider retirement after suffering his third consecutive loss, this time to France’s Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Adesanya who was looking to bounce back from two straight title losses to American Sean Strickland and South African Dricus Du Plessis started the fight brightly taking the first round on the judges’ card.
He was, however, brutally knocked out in the second round, a few seconds after disregarding the referee’s advice to take a few seconds to regain his sight after being poked in the eye by his opponent. The loss takes Adesanya’s record to four losses in his last five middleweight outings with three of them coming by way of knockout.
The loss means that Adesanya, who enjoyed several years at the top of the middleweight division, has seen his time at the top come to an end. At 35 years of age, the Lagos-born New Zealander might be forced to consider his future.

When asked what the future holds for him after the loss, ‘The Last Stylenbender’ said he would take some time out to assess his current situation.
“I don’t know what’s next,” Adesanya said after the loss. “I’ll have to chill and think about things … I was going to do that anyway but now I’m forced to, so shout out to Nassourdine for that.”
Reacting to the loss, fans on X have advised the once dominant force in the middleweight to either take a break or consider retirement.
“Is Adesanya having a midlife crisis? His confidence has really taken a nosedive. He needs some time off,” X user Brain Jail wrote.
Another user Victor Uzondo wrote, “He should prolly retire man. I hate seeing him like this.”
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