Israel Adesanya has no plans to hang up his gloves despite suffering a fourth straight loss this past Saturday.
After consecutive defeats to Nassourdine Imavov, Dricus du Plessis, and Sean Strickland, Adesanya was hoping to bounce back in the UFC Seattle main event.
But in his first fight in over a year, Adesanya was knocked out by Joe Pyfer in round two, further adding to his struggles inside the Octagon at this late stage in his career.
Many have reacted to that defeat at the Climate Pledge Arena by advising the legendary former middleweight champion to retire. But not everyone thinks that is the right course of action.
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Daniel Cormier does not think Israel Adesanya needs to retire yet
The result on March 28 means ‘The Last Stylebender’ is now winless since 2023. Adesanya’s knockout of Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to become a two-time champion marked the last time he had his hand raised.
With that in mind, the 36-year-old is being widely urged to call it quits. But he does not plan to heed that advice.
Adesanya shut down retirement talk during his Octagon interview in Seattle, and Cormier thinks that is the right decision.
“People were wondering… if Adesanya didn’t get the job done tonight, if it would be it, if we had seen the last of ‘The Stylebender,’” Cormier said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“To me, it did not sound like he is almost remotely done with his UFC career. And honestly, the way that he was fighting, I would encourage him to keep going. Because he was fighting really well.
“I think Izzy will question when he gets back to watching this fight, why he chose the path that he did in round two,” he continued. “Because he was fighting really well. He fought well in round one. He was fighting well in round two.
“But then, for some reason, he decided to kind of say, ‘You know what? Shield in the middle. Let’s stand on it and let’s trade.’ When in reality, that was probably the best way for Pyfer to get a victory.”
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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
If he continues to dismiss retirement, Adesanya already has an opponent option for his next UFC fight.
Yousri Belgaroui lost two kickboxing fights to ‘The Last Stylebender’ before their respective transitions to MMA.
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2026-03-30 13:00:00
