There are many reasons people have given for Israel Adesanya‘s shocking loss to Nassourdine Imavov last week. And the debate is imminent. After all, this setback for Izzy seemed like an essential and inevitable change of guard at 185lbs. But UFC vet Paul Felder‘s take seems the most correct, at least as far as the immediate reasons are concerned. Let us set aside the meta-narratives about whether Adesanya is too old or washed up for the moment.

“I thought he should have taken that time [after getting eye-poked by Imavov in the second round]. And ultimately I’m sure he’s looking back at it and thinking ‘goddamn, I wish I would have taken a second and just let me clear the vision,'” Felder told co-host and former champion Michael Bisping on their ‘Believe You Me’ podcast.

Adesanya, who looked fantastic in the first round, got eye-poked by Imavov in the opening moments of the second round. Instead of taking a break to get his bearings back, ‘Izzy’ waved off the referee and switched stance, perhaps because he couldn’t see out of the poked eye. Moments later, Imavov caught the former champ with a beautiful right, ending him crashing to the ground, and the fight was over shortly after.

And Felder, although he thinks the eye-poke may be responsible for the loss, has no sympathy for Adesanya trying to play the hero. “But he didn’t and that is on him, you know. Unfortunately, he decided to move forward and that was a clean right,” he declared.

As far as Imavov goes, Felder felt that the Dagestan-born fighter and his team had done their homework, and were aware of the ins and outs of ‘Izzy’s style. This, he thought, was why ‘The Sniper’ shocked Adesanya and the world at their UFC Saudi Arabia clash last week.

“And, you know, I think Imavov and his team studied him, they’ve been watching him at the top of this division for so long. He [Adesanya] loves to reach out and fight the hands, and he was patient. He waited, he had him backing up towards the fence where he couldn’t necessarily move back… Just as Izzy is playing and reaching out, fighting the hands, and he comes over to the top,” Felder declared. But the UFC vet just couldn’t get over Adesanya’s decision to not take a few moments to compose himself.

“And as far as the stoppage goes, I think it was a fair stoppage. I think he was going to only keep taking more damage. I just think he should have taken time to clear the eye,” Felder reiterated. And Adesanya does, at least partly agree with Felder. But the matter isn’t as black and white as Felder is making it out to be.

What did Israel Adesanya have to say about the Imavov eye-poke?

Israel Adesanya indeed does think he should have taken a break after the eye-poke. But the “thrill and agony” of having dominated the fight so far was just too much for him. There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity, as they say, and while some may feel ‘Izzy’ crossed over to stupid territory.

But not so much! The former champ had a good and intelligent reason to not want a break in the fight. Adesanya just didn’t want to give the ‘The Sniper’ even a moment’s respite. “In hindsight, maybe I should have taken some time [after the eye poke] but I just didn’t want him to rest because I knew he was tired, but [hindsight is always] 20/20,” Adesanya told ESPN after UFC Saudi Arabia.

This is an understandable decision. In addition, there is another factor to consider. If the eye-poke was bad enough and had hurt or hampered Adesanya, he wouldn’t have been quick to wave off the referee. He would have been in too much pain to do that. But he clearly was in some discomfort as he switched stances straight after. But seemingly not enough to warrant a break in the action.

As Adesanya said, in hindsight not stopping may be a mistake. But during the fight, going as it was going till then, it isn’t clear if ‘Izzy’ made a mistake. What do you think about Paul Felder’s take on Israel Adesanya’s loss to Imavov?