Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will headline UFC Seattle against Joe Pyfer, as he aims to continue making history.
Adesanya’s return marks his first walk to the Octagon in 13 months, following a difficult stretch that saw him drop three consecutive defeats to Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis, and Nassourdine Imavov. Now 36, the Hall of Famer is viewing this weekend as the start of a final legacy-defining comeback. Adesanya has not had a UFC win since stopping Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to become a two-time middleweight champion. A win keeps Izzy’s hopes of making more history alive, thus shutting down suggestions he should retire.
“The story I’m going to write this weekend is after a year off he comes back and just performs better than he ever has, or just like he did. So, when I’m done this weekend I want people to be like, Wow. How did I ever doubt him? How did I ever think he was done? So yeah, that’s the story I want to write this weekend,” Adesanya said