Off the again of his third straight loss tonight, Israel Adesanya has but to close the door on a possible retirement from blended martial arts, claiming he must “think about things” following his UFC Saudi Arabia knockout loss to the streaking, Nassourdine Imavov.
Adesanya, who entered tonight’s primary occasion conflict within the midst of a two-fight shedding run for the primary time in his blended martial arts profession, relationship again to final summer time.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – FEBRUARY 01: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria prepares to face Nassourdine Imavov of Russia in a middleweight battle throughout the UFC Combat Night time occasion at anb Enviornment on February 01, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Picture by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
And hoping to return to the winner’s enclosure tonight in Riyadh towards the present quantity 5 ranked middleweight challenger, Imavov, Metropolis Kickboxing star, Adesanya was stopped with a surprising second spherical knockout by the previous, inflicting his third straight loss.
Headlining UFC 305 again in August of final 12 months, Adesanya dropped a fourth spherical face crank submission loss to bitter rival and present middleweight kingpin, Dricus du Plessis, following a large upset unanimous choice shutout defeat to Sean Strickland the 12 months prior.
Israel Adesanya weighing up retirement after UFC Saudi Arabia loss
And after his loss tonight to the surging, Imavov, former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya has been urged by some within the blended martial arts neighborhood to weigh up a possible retirement from fight sports activities, nonetheless, he’s but to make his thoughts up on such a definitive choice as of but.
” I don’t know,” Israel Adesanya informed ESPN MMA when requested what was subsequent for him after his UFC Saudi Arabia loss. “I’ll have to chill and then think about things. I’ll relax first for a little bit. Just help the teammates who have fights coming up and yeah, see what I want to do. I was gonna do that anyway, but you know now I’m forced to shout to Nassourdine (Imavov) for that.”
And himself racking up his fourth straight win, Russian-French contender, Imavov has staked his declare for a shot on the middleweight belt, which is up for grabs at UFC 312 between the above-mentioned, du Plessis and Strickland.
“I ask you the question, I ask you the question, 4 top 10, 2 top 5, 2 top 10, have only 1 name, 2 finishes, I think I still deserve the belt,” Nassourdine Imavov informed Paul Felder throughout his post-fight interview following his win at UFC Saudi Arabia. “I ask you the question again, do I deserve the belt or not? Which is, the record speaks for itself.”
