Israel Adesanya is 35 now, a veteran of 28 MMA bouts and at least 80 kickboxing matches. He's reached an age where many of even the greatest fighters begin to experience a significant decline.
The former middleweight champion will fight in a non-title fight on Saturday at anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when he meets Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. It will be his first non-title bout since he defeated his idol, ex-middleweight champ Anderson Silva, at UFC 234 on Feb. 10, 2019.
Since then, Adesanya competed in 12 consecutive championship bouts -- 11 middleweight fights and a light heavyweight match against then-champion Jan Blachowicz -- in the second-longest such streak in UFC history in terms of both time and title fights.
Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has a currently active streak of 17 consecutive title fights (16 wins and one no-contest) that spans nearly 14 years. He fought in his first title fight at UFC 128 on March 19, 2011, when he won the light heavyweight title by knocking out Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He's competed in nothing but title fights since.
Adesanya is the only fighter remotely in Jones' league in that regard. Silva held his middleweight title for nearly seven full years, but he had several non-title fights that interrupted his title fight run.
Adesanya's title fight streak began on April 13, 2019, at UFC 236 when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a fantastic bout for the interim middleweight belt. He's gone 8-4 in those title matches, losing a bid for the light heavyweight title to Blachowicz, two middleweight bouts to Alex Pereira and one to Sean Strickland.
He's defeated Robert Whittaker twice in title bouts as well as Pereira, Gastelum, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier.
He jokingly referred to himself as a gatekeeper not long after the bout with Imavov was announced. But he knows that with his resume and his status within the business, he's going to be a target for those on the way up the ladder. Imavov is ranked fifth by the UFC in the middleweight division, and his biggest win is probably a decision over Brendan Allen in his last fight.
The four men ahead of him in the rankings chasing champion Dricus Du Plessis are No. 1 Strickland; No. 2 Adesanya; No. 3 Khamzat Chimaev and No. 4 Whittaker. Strickland, Adesanya and Whittaker are all former champions.
"I feel like the old dog," Adesanya said. "Then there's the young guys coming up, [trying to] prove themselves. So it's my job to send them back down and to let them know, 'I'm still here.' "
Adesanya has lost three of his last four, which some might interpret as a slide. But those losses were to Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight champion; Strickland, who is fighting for the title on Feb. 8 at UFC 312; and Du Plessis. His win in that span was a KO of Pereira.
He says he’s no longer motivated by titles, only by proving himself. That permits him to fight free of external pressure, though, knowing that he's been there and done that already.
Nothing he does from this stage on could possibly diminish one of the great championship reigns ever in UFC history.
"God forbid, but if I lose my next 10 fights, it wouldn't affect my legacy," Adesanya said. "I put pressure on myself. Don't get me wrong: When it's time, I'll put pressure on myself. But if [Imavov] doesn't feel the pressure, good for him. He'll find out, though."
Adesanya is a -162 favorite at DraftKings sportsbook, which has Imavov at +136. The over-under is 4.5 rounds, with over the favorite at -188 and under at +145. Adesanya is +330 to win by KO and +130 to win by decision.
Adesanya said he believes Imavov's best attributes are his speed and his counterstrikes, but he doesn't seem off-put or overly concerned.
"It's up to him to show me something I haven't seen before," Adesanya said.
Given that he's fought most of the greatest fighters of the last 10-15 years, there isn't much that Adesanya hasn't seen.
History suggests Adesanya's run may end soon, but he's adapting to the sport's rapid evolution.And so stay tuned; you're going to see Adesanya in plenty more big fights before he says that final goodbye.
He’s one of the greats to ever step foot into the Octagon, and he’s showing no sign of fading away any time soon.
Jasmin Frank/Imagn Images
Former champion Israel Adesanya is a -162 favorite Saturday over Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia.