Israel Adesanya does not want to make any hasty decisions regarding his future in MMA. The former middleweight champion suffered a surprise knockout loss in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia when he succumbed to a KO to Nassourdine Imavov. 1–4 in his last five appearances in the Octagon, the New Zealand native did not rule out the possibility of continuing to compete. However, he will need some major introspection, something that even Daniel Cormier has suggested.

On his YouTube channel, ‘DC’ dropped a brutal verdict. He suggested that Israel Adesanya’s days of fighting top guys and champions are now over. However, that does not mean that ‘The Last Stylebender’ is done as a fighter. According to the UFC legend, Adesanya will have to fight competitors of his same level. He said, “Adesanya is done fighting for titles. But what I do not believe is that Adesanya is done as a fighter. Israel Adesanya has earned the right to fight lesser competition right now.”

Daniel Cormier added, “This guy’s on a short list of guys that could be in title contention. But when you saw what he did last weekend—Saudi Arabia, sold out, big gate—now you know why Adesanya is still being put in those positions. He looked fast. He looked sharp.” Giving his own example, the 45-year-old stated that when he was young, he could easily take damage and walk through it like the Terminator. But when he started turning 38 or 39, his body was no longer immune to such powerful shots anymore.

Similarly, ‘Izzy’ is reaching the twilight of his career. After a long stint as a kickboxer and then as a UFC veteran, the 35-year-old is slowly showing signs of aging and burnout. But seeing how headstrong he is, Daniel Cormier suggested that ‘The Last Stylebender’ has to do some thinking about his future.

 “I think he should be asking to be done at the top right now for a reset. And if there is a guy that has the mental makeup to know, ‘Yeah, maybe I want to step back; maybe I need to do something a little different right now,’ it is Israel Adesanya.” But what are the former middleweight champion’s thoughts about his future?

Israel Adesanya aims to recharge his batteries before contemplating his next move

After dominating the UFC’s middleweight division for years, Israel Adesanya seems to be in something of a free fall at the moment, both in terms of his performance inside the Octagon and results. After finally beating Brazilian Alex Pereira and regaining the belt in April 2023, the Nigerian entered a dark phase in his career, accumulating three consecutive defeats to Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis, and Nassourdine Imavov, respectively.

So, when talking about his future in the fight game in the post-fight interview with ESPN, Adesanya said, “I don’t know [what’s next]. I have to chill and then think about things. I’ll relax for a little bit, just help the teammates who have fights coming up, and see what I want to do. I was going to do that anyway, but now I’m forced to. Shout out to Nassourdine for that.”

So, it looks like the former middleweight champion has a lot of thinking to do now. More losses will only lower his rankings and will affect his legacy negatively. The fight world has already witnessed a veteran like Tony Ferguson overstay his welcome and leave a major blemish on his legacy by not stopping when he should’ve; fans of Adesanya wouldn’t want the same for him. What do you think? Should ‘Izzy’ keep on fighting top fighters? Let us know in the comments.