The dominant narrative in the UFC world is that Israel Adesanya is essentially done. After all, the former middleweight champ turns 36 this year, and with his shocking loss to Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday, is 1-4 in his last five fights. Most feel that the Kiwi-Nigerian’s advancing age and recent record all but prove that he is now officially washed up. But not former UFC star Josh Thomson, who feels confident that Adesanya is still good enough to get back on the middleweight throne.

“Izzy will be back. I think he’s got another run in him, even at 35 years old. I think 185 pounds, like I said, to me has always been the weakest weight class. 205 is pretty close to it right now, which was which is sad because it used to be the pillar of the organization and the sport…  Izzy, though, has done his part man. He’s doing a great job marketing and helping this sport grow,” Thomson said on his ‘Weighing In’ podcast.

On the point of Adesanya’s contributions to the sport, the UFC vet is totally correct. ‘Izzy’ is still one of the biggest stars in the sport, and no matter who his opponent was, his fights always did well. That cannot be said for most UFC fighters. The definition of love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him, Adesanya’s persona is quite divisive. This is why the Kiwi-Nigerian just has a knack for generating headlines.

But as far as having another title run in him, that is a bit more doubtful. While Adesanya looked good in the first round, his punch resistance seems to be degraded now. In addition, his counter-punching, hit-and-don’t-get-hit fighting style will only suffer as he gets older. In sharp contrast, Imavov looks like he may well be the future of the division.

Imavov in touching distance of title shot as Israel Adesanya set to traverse long road back

Josh Thomson feels that Nassourdine Imavov may just have given the blueprint of beating Adesanya to the entire middleweight division. “Do things that get in between his [Adesanya’s] guard, don’t try to go around so much. Go upper-cut, you know, and come over the top after that- those types of things,” he said.

Not only did Imavov show everyone how to beat Adesanya, but the Dagestan-born fighter also found himself in a very enviable position. After all, ‘The Sniper’ is now firmly in the title picture. Perhaps one more win over a top-ranked guy from fighting for the 185-pound gold. On the other hand, Adesanya will probably have to be the gatekeeper to the very top of the division for at least a couple of fights.

But Thomson is sure that Izzy will not be in that role for long and make another run for the title. But the clock, as they say, is ticking. What do you think about Thomson’s comments about Israel Adesanya’s future?

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