Khamzat Chimaev believes Israel Adesanya has lost his hunger since becoming UFC middleweight champion.
Adesanya has been criticised for his recent title defences against Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier this year. The Nigerian-born Kiwi outpointed Whittaker in their rematch and also went five rounds against Cannonier at UFC 276, with many fans leaving the arena before the final round of the fight.
The lacklustre decision wins are a far contrast to the highlight-reel finishes Adesanya showed early on in his UFC career, with the middleweight king also being remembered for his 2019 Fight of the Year against Kelvin Gastelum. Chimaev, who has called out Adesanya on several occasions, appreciates his rival is "doing his job" but admits his recent fights have been underwhelming.
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“He’s doing his job. He makes his money. Now he’s the champ, you don’t need to do the crazy things just to win. I don’t know what’s happening with him last time. He fought better before. Now, maybe he’s not that hungry. He’s driving crazy cars," Chimaev said on The MMA Hour. “He has a lot of money and it makes some people change. When you’re hungry, you fight crazy like he did before and now, I don’t know. He just make the points and win the fights. It’s boring.”
Adesanya faced criticism from fans and even successful actor Chris Pratt over his last fight, with the Hollywood star later apologising for his "pitter-patter" comment. UFC boss Dana White recognised that Adesanya's recent win wasn't particularly exciting, but also thinks some of the blame should be put on Cannonier for not pushing the action on Adesanya.
'The Last Stylebender' is expected to defend his belt against former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira next, who knocked out Sean Strickland just hours before Adesanya beat Cannonier. White has promised that Pereira, who has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, will be able to bring the best of out the middleweight champion.
“It won’t happen in the next fight,” White said of Adesanya's last fight. “When you’re sitting here in my position, you can’t give too many guarantees. I could say ‘Stylistically on paper this should be’ you know, or ‘We feel this is going to be.’ I f****ng guarantee you, I absolutely f****ng guarantee you that the next fight that Israel Adesanya fights will be absolutely bat**** nuts.”
