Israel Adesanya says ego stopping UFC retirement after four straight losses

Israel Adesanya is not ready to hang up his gloves despite a brutal four-fight skid that has some wondering if his time is up.

The former middleweight champion told Demetrious Johnson on YouTube that pride is what keeps him coming back, even after absorbing knockout losses in four of his last five appearances. "Even if we take a hit, like I said, four in a row for me, the equity might be down, but we're still up over most people who've come into this game," Adesanya said, per Bloody Elbow. "That's something I don't want to rest on... my ego is very tied into this; I know what I can do still."

Adesanya's slide mirrors Anderson Silva's final run

The 36-year-old, who was once viewed as the heir to Anderson Silva at 185 pounds, now finds himself tracking the same downward arc as the Brazilian legend. Adesanya dropped four consecutive fights and five of his last six, getting stopped in four of those defeats. His latest chapter closed with a technical knockout loss to Joe Pyfer in Seattle.

Before the skid began, Adesanya rattled off nine straight UFC wins and claimed the middleweight strap. He moved up to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight title but came up short. Back at middleweight, he defended the belt three more times before his rivalry with Alex Pereira shifted momentum against him.

Adesanya sits at 24-6 overall and remains unbooked. He made clear on the podcast that this is not how he wants his story to end, and that something inside him refuses to accept the current narrative as his final one.

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• MMA Mania — Israel Adesanya admits ‘ego’ keeping him from UFC retirement — ‘I know what I can do still’