Nigerian-born UFC fighter, Israel Adesanya, has suffered his fourth defeat in a row in UFC.
The former two-time middleweight champion fought Joe Pyfer in Washington on Saturday night, March 28, and lost in round two after getting knocked out.
Adesanya, who entered the fight on the worst run of his professional MMA career, started well, but ended up getting stopped inside two rounds by the #14-ranked contender at 185lbs.
Israel Adesanya won round one before beginning to hunt for the finish in the second stanza. But Joe Pyfer managed to stop him by landing some big shots as the UFC Seattle main event descended into a brawl.
The 29-year-old later secured a takedown and dominated once he got Adesanya to the mat. Pyfer took several ground strikes before referee Herb Dean waved off the fight with 42 seconds left of round two.
Israel Adesanya was one of the best fighters when he KO’d Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April 2023.
However, that win started a three-year losing streak that continued at UFC Seattle.
Adesanya was dropped en route to a unanimous decision defeat in his UFC 293 title fight with Sean Strickland. In August 2024, Dricus du Plessis tapped out Adesanya to defend the belt he took from Strickland seven months prior.
Adesanya’s losing streak was extended to three when he headlined UFC Saudi Arabia in February 2025. He was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov inside one round, leaving his career in limbo.
