Every fighter experiences a decline, but when it happens at the highest level of the sport, the flaws that lead to it can have an even greater spotlight.
That’s what coach Sayif Saud sees happening to former UFC middleweight champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Israel Adesanya, who saw his losing skid hit a career-worst three fights in a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 this month.
After losing consecutive championship bouts to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, the once-longtime titleholder Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) found himself in a different spot. His streak of 12 consecutive title fights was over and he was in a non-title bout for the first time since 2019 against a surging contender in Imavov. He said all the right things heading in, and started with a strong first round. But then it fell apart.
