By Akinwale Kasali
Nigerian born UFC former middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has suffered yet another defeat in his drive to come back to reckoning. He recorded his fourth consecutive defeat after losing to American contender Joe Pyfer.
Adesanya’s loss to Pyfer was by technical knockout at the UFC Fight Night early Sunday in Washington, USA.
Pyfer (16-3) secured a career-defining victory, stopping Adesanya (24-6) at 4:18 of the second round at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, USA.
Adesanya began the bout strongly, using sharp movement and striking to control the opening round.
However, Pyfer absorbed the early pressure and shifted momentum with a series of powerful punches and a takedown.
In the second round, Pyfer pinned the Nigerian-New Zealand national against the fence before taking him to the canvas, advancing to full mount and unleashing sustained ground-and-pound, prompting referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.
An elated Pyfer said, “I just have this mentality where I don’t care; I’m going to search and destroy.”
The Nigerian fighter
however, remained resolute despite the loss.
He said, “I’m just going to keep going and going and going”.
The defeat marks 36-year-old’s fourth loss, with his future in the middleweight division looks bleak.
It would be recalled that Adesanya had previously lost to Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis, and Nassourdine Imavov, who stopped him in February 2025 in Saudi Arabia.
For Pyfer, the victory over a former champion his four-fight winning streak strengthens his position as a rising contender and could move him closer to title contention.
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