Israel Adesanya didn’t have a bad performance against Dricus du Plessis by any means at UFC 305, but he still left with his first-ever submission loss while also suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career.
Afterward, Adesanya shut down any notion that he was considering retirement and promised rather emphatically, “I’m not f*cking leaving.” Because he remains a stalwart at the top of the middleweight rankings with superstar status, the now 35-year-old fighter probably won’t have to win too many fights to earn his way back to another title shot.
That said, recently retired UFC veteran Matt Brown can’t help but wonder if perhaps Adesanya is beginning a slow and inevitable decline that all fighters go through at some stage in their careers.
“I’ve had the question, Izzy is 35, he’s got a lot of miles on him from kickboxing and MMA, is his peak just ending?” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Is that what happened over the weekend? Is his peak just ending? When he fought [Sean] Strickland, maybe he just had an off night, but maybe he’s slowing down too. Maybe five years ago that was an easy fight for him and he’s just not in peak form anymore.
“The way he looked against Dricus, I thought he looked really good, but that could have been him still slowing down a little bit. I thought his defense didn’t look as good as it had in the past, which was kind of the unique thing because he relies so much on reactions. He’s not necessarily a hands tight, high guard, really defensive guy in that sense, really technical. He kind of relies on reactions. When those start slowing down, that’s when guys like Dricus start hitting you. That’s when guys like Strickland start hitting you a lot more. If he’s slowing down a little bit, maybe his time is up?”
To be clear, Brown isn’t saying that Adesanya has lost a step, but he can’t help but wonder if a half-second difference in his reaction time now versus a few years ago is what has cost him lately.
Adesanya has absorbed a lot of punishment in past fights, most notably against Kelvin Gastelum and a pair of battles with Alex Pereira, but he’s always found a way to win.
In his matchup against Strickland in 2023, Adesanya got clipped early and nearly finished but rebounded in the second round. Still, the remainder of the fight saw Strickland’s pace, pressure, and volume just kept Adesanya a step behind.
Against du Plessis at UFC 305, Adesanya had his moments and was actually up 29-28 on one scorecard through three very competitive rounds, but he got caught with a series of punches in the fourth that eventually led to the takedown and submission that finished the fight.
When it comes to Adesanya potentially slowing down, Brown believes that’s probably more evident in his defense than his offense, which helps explain some of the struggles he faced his past two losses.
“You have to ask it,” Brown said. “When we say he looked great, he looked great offensively. Defensively, I saw some things in Izzy that I’ve never really remember at least seeing before, like turning his back. Like running toward the cage, turning his back. It’s not completely abnormal for him. He goes against the cage and moves his feet really well and stuff, but there were a couple times where I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s what Izzy wants to be doing right now. He’s kind of doing it because he’s getting hit more than he should be getting hit. Dricus isn’t a fast guy.’”
“That’s where I question, is his defense slowing down? He’s a very reactionary fighter. Maybe his time is coming to an end.”
UFC CEO Dana White often says father time is undefeated and there’s no old age home for fighters, but at 35, it’s difficult to predict if Adesanya is still in his prime or perhaps starting on a downward slope in his career.
For all the praise Adesanya rightfully received even in defeat this past Saturday, Brown says it’s impossible to at least not wonder if that’s what is happening to him right now.
“I’m not saying that is the answer either, to be clear about that,” Brown explained. “I’m not saying that is what’s happening. I’m saying I haven’t heard anybody asking that question and it should be being asked.
“It’s the question I’m asking. That’s why boxers don’t usually last to 35 years old. That’s when they’re really declining. Most boxers are in their prime between like 25 and maybe 32 at the most, and then they start declining because it’s a very reactionary sport. MMA, we don’t see that as much, as commonly, because there’s so many other options. You don’t just have to react. You can clinch a guy, you can take a guy down, all these things, so we don’t see it quite as often, but Izzy only stays on the feet really. He’s trying to keep it in that game that’s going to have a lot of reactions. You have to keep your reactions fast. Father time beats every man. I’m just asking the question, putting it out there.”
As far as what comes next, Brown believes a rematch with Strickland would probably answer all of those questions that he’s asked.
If the first fight really was just a bad night at the office for Adesanya, he can make the necessary adjustments and avenge his past loss. On the flip side, a second loss to Strickland might just determine the stage where Adesanya is at in his career.
“Give them the rematch and let’s see if Izzy is back to his old self, so to speak, if that was fluke when he lost to Sean Strickland,” Brown argued. “Give him a chance to prove that it was. Gives Sean Strickland [a chance] to prove that it wasn’t and the winner can fight whoever ends up having the title at that time.”
