Israel Adesanya Dismisses Retirement Talk After Fourth Straight Loss

Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has insisted he has no intention of retiring from mixed martial arts despite suffering his fourth consecutive defeat, this time a second-round stoppage at the hands of Joe Pyfer at UFC Fight Night 271 in Seattle on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 36-year-old Nigerian-born fighter, who entered the bout on a losing run that already included defeats to Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis, and Nassourdine Imavov, was rocked by a left hook, a body shot, and a right hand before being taken to the mat and stopped by the referee — his third finish inside the distance in a row.

Despite the result, Adesanya was defiant in his post-fight interview.

“You keep going. Again and again and again and again and again. I’m not leaving. You’ll never stop me. I might get beat, but I’ll always remain undefeated,” he said.

The 36-year-old, whose last victory came in 2023 when he avenged a defeat to Alex Pereira, acknowledged that Pyfer brought his best on the night and gave him the physical challenge he had been seeking after 13 months away from competition.

“I expected the best Joe Pyfer. I knew this was his biggest fight ever. I expected his best, and he brought the best. I said coming into this fight, it’s been 13 months since I last competed. I wanted to feel like I’d been in a fight. He gave me just that,” Adesanya said.

Pyfer, for his part, was generous in victory, reserving lavish praise for the man he had just defeated.

“Izzy is not the most powerful guy in the world, we know that, but he’s one of the highest fight IQ champions of all time. There’s nobody better. In my book, he’s the best middleweight of all time. I love you as a champion, love you as a person,” Pyfer said.

Adesanya carries a professional record of 24 wins and six defeats, and holds the record for the second-longest winning streak in UFC middleweight history behind Anderson Silva.