That’s why former 185-pound titlejolder and current UFC commentator, Michael Bisping, expects Adesanya to call it quits if he loses to Joe Pyfer atop the UFC Seattle fight card this weekend on Paramount+.
“If Izzy loses this one, I think that’ll be the end of his career,” Bisping said on his Believe You Me podcast. “I think he will choose to say, ‘I clearly haven’t got it anymore because back in the day, I would’ve smoked someone like Joe Pyfer.’ The sport retires you — you don’t retire from the sport. And that could be what we’re seeing, or it could just be he had a good run in fighting, a lot of kickboxers and not the most wrestlers.”
“I’m not trying to rip on his career,” Bisping added. “Then you go against Dricus (Du Plessis), had a bad night against (Sean) Strickland you go up against (Alex) Pereira. There’s no shame in any of these losses. (Nassourdine) Imavov could be the next guy. But when it’s four out of five, then you lose to Joe Pyfer, who is (ranked) No. 13, then it’s five out of six. When you’re losing five out of your last six, that’s time to walk away.”
Adesanya (24-5) turns 37 in July and has competed in well over 100 fights between his kickboxing and MMA career, which could suggest the mileage has finally caught up to him. At the same time, “The Last Stylebender” has only fought the absolute best in the world and may just be stuck in a rut.
We’ll find out this weekend in “Emerald City.”
