Daniel Cormier thinks Israel Adesanya may have shot himself in the foot this weekend.
On Saturday, Adesanya took on Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Seattle, losing by stoppage in the second round. The finish was particularly difficult for Adesanya fans because “The Last Stylebender” started in prime form, controlling the action and outclassing Pyfer on the feet. However, halfway through the second round, Adesanya began to engage with Pyfer directly and got hurt, leading to a takedown and a ground-and-pound stoppage.
“At the beginning of Round 2, Pyfer is actually getting pieced up by Adesanya,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “His lead leg is destroyed, he hasn’t checked the kicks, so he’s really struggling to even stand. But the moment Adesanya engaged him in the type of fight that he likes, a brawl, where you stand in front of your opponent, and you throw punches, and you go punch for punch, he recognized that his power is greater than almost everyone in this division. And he proved that against Adesanya.”
The loss is Adesanya’s fourth in a row, and third by stoppage, leading fans to question how much longer Adesanya has left in MMA. For his part, Adesanya was quick to shut down talk of retirement after the bout, and Cormier agrees, but he does think Adesanya should go back and think about how he fought against Pyfer.
“For Israel Adesanya, I asked him, ‘How do you bounce back after this?’” Cormier said. “He goes, ‘You just keep going.’ People were wondering whether or not, if Adesanya didn’t get the job done tonight, if it would be it, if we had seen the last of The Stylebender. To me, it did not sound like he is remotely done with his UFC career. And honestly, the way that he was fighting, I would encourage him to keep going, because he was fighting really well.
“I will question, and I think Izzy will question, when he gets back to watching this fight, why he chose the path that he did in Round 2. Because he was fighting really well. He fought well in Round 1, he was fighting well in Round 2. But then, for some reason, he decided to say, ‘You know what, shield in the middle, let’s stand on it and let’s trade. When, in reality, that was probably the best way for Pyfer to get a victory. Because then he could reach him.
“Joe was missing with a lot of stuff early. But Izzy then ultimately chose to fight him in a way that gave Joe a chance to do exactly what he did. So, Izzy will have some questions when he goes back and watches this.”
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I know it’s not going to happen, but I’d like to see Izzy retire. 4 straight losses, 3 straight being finished. He can look good for a bit, but his durability has fallen off a cliff, and that ruins him.
But instead, I strongly suspect we’re getting Izzy vs. Bo Nickal later this year, assuming Bo wins at UFC White House.
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