At UFC Seattle, Israel Adesanya showed flashes of his old self and hints of the faded force he has become, yet it was an unexpected lapse that cost him against Joe Pyfer.
At times on Saturday, Adesanya showed himself to be the sharpshooter that took him to two UFC middleweight titles; at others, his waning speed and timing were on display.
Yet it was Adesanya’s decision-making that ultimately cost him against Pyfer, who secured a TKO of the “Last Stylebender” late in round two.
The heavy-hitting Pyfer had started fairly well, swinging big with eye-catching punches and landing intermittently. However, the American was missing as well, and Adesanya began to find his own timing and vary his offence as the first round went on, leading to a jumping knee that was the shot of the fight so far.
Pyfer secured a takedown with 20 seconds left in the round, which could have gone either way, but Adesanya continued to dial things up in the second frame.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander, 36, seemed to have Pyfer somewhat hurt and backed him up to the fence, but it was here that an unusual lapse in Adesanya’s decision-making cost him.
The former two-time champion stood in front of Pyfer for too long, with his hands too low, leaving his head exposed to the 32-year-old’s superior punching power.
Pyfer began to land with increasing success before taking down Adesanya, who quickly gave up mount and then his back, and Pyfer was able to rain down heavy punches on the prone veteran.
Referee Herb Dean stepped in as Adesanya’s efforts to escape the position ceased, with Pyfer securing the win late in the round.
It is the biggest victory of his career and will surely take him from 14th in the rankings to the top five – or the cusp thereof – given Adesanya’s No 4 berth.
Meanwhile, Adesanya’s defeat was his fourth in a row, following a TKO by Nassourdine Imavov last February, and back-to-back title losses in his previous two outings – against Sean Strickland on points, and Dricus Du Plessis via submission.
Still, Adesanya refused to retire, saying he would go “again and again and again and again and again”. He vowed: “I’m not f***ing leaving, you’ll never stop me.”
