In a slump, Adesanya ignores the weight of his name and denies jumping the queue for the UFC belt.

Adesanya focused before fighting in the UFC. Photo: Press release/Facebook/UFC

At his peak in MMA, Israel adesanya He made history and was a dominant champion in the middleweight division (up to 83,9 kg), but now he's experiencing the other side of the coin. At 36 years old, the Nigerian is in the worst phase of his career, accumulating three consecutive losses. Even so, the veteran remains highly regarded and leads the... UFC Seattle, an event scheduled to take place this Saturday (28), together with joe pyferHowever, he shows a grounded perspective when projecting his future.

Adesanya denied having any desire or chance of fighting for the title again, even if he wins against the 14th-ranked fighter. It's true that many professionals, both at their peak and their decline, rely on the legacy they've built in the sport to get what they want and even make demands.

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However, such a stance doesn't even cross Adesanya's mind. Despite being an MMA star and considered by many to be the second-best fighter in the division's history, behind only... Anderson SilvaThe former king, even aware of the weight of his name and the importance he holds in the UFC, ignores his status and dismisses the idea of ​​jumping the queue in the middleweight division.

“No. The motivation and the goal in this fight is to perform against Pyfer and win. As I said, if I fight well and win, when I do that, everything happens naturally. The money comes, the gold comes, the prestige comes, everything,” said the MMA legend in an interview with the YouTube channel UFC on Paramount.

Adesanya's fighters in MMA

Israel adesanyaThe 36-year-old made history as the UFC middleweight champion (up to 83,9 kg) and became an MMA legend. The Nigerian began his career in the sport in 2012, debuted in the company in 2018, and won the belt in 2019. In his first reign in the division, the renowned striker defended the title five times.

In this sport, the athlete built a record of 24 wins, 16 by knockout, and five losses. His main victories were against... Alex Poatán, Anderson Silva, Derek Brunson, Jared Cannonier, Kelvin Gastelum, Marvin vettori (twice), Paulo borrachinha, Robert whittaker (twice) and Yoel romero.