Israel Adesanya suffers fourth consecutive defeat as Joe Pyfer stops former champion at UFC Seattle

Joe Pyfer scored the biggest win of his career by finishing Israel Adesanya in two rounds at UFC Seattle.

Adesanya entered the fight on the worst run of his professional MMA career.

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He shockingly dropped the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland in September 2023, before being submitted by Dricus du Plessis and brutally knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov.

And ‘The Last Stylebender’ came to fight in the main event of UFC Seattle, standing and banging with hard-hitter Pyfer for the majority of the bout.

However, after a few unsuccessful takedowns early in the fight, Pyfer took Adesanya’s back in round two, and he looked destined to get the win.

The American quickly flattened the former UFC middleweight champion and dropped multiple bombs before referee Herb Dean waved off the contest at the 4:18 mark.

Pyfer, 16-3, will now surge straight into the top four UFC middleweight rankings, with champion Khamzat Chimaev firmly in his sights.

Adesanya: I’m not leaving

Despite not having his arm raised since knocking out Alex Pereira in April 2023, two-time middleweight king Adesanya confirmed he would continue fighting when speaking after his loss.

“I expected the best Joe Pyfer,” the 36-year-old explained.

“I knew this was his biggest fight ever. There was nothing surprising.

“I wanted to feel like I’d been in a fight, and he gave me just that…

“I’m not f***ing leaving, you’ll never stop me.”

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Pyfer was overcome with emotions when he spoke to Daniel Cormier after his win.

“It’s like I could see this moment happening,” Pyfer said.

“I almost took my own life a couple of weeks ago, and I hate crying, so I’m going to stop.

“God restored me, that’s the only reason I’m here, USA, let’s go!”

He continued: “We knew I had the bigger firepower, so I knew I was going to keep that pressure.

“[Adesanya] is one of the highest IQ champions of all time. He’s the greatest middleweight of all time.

UFC Seattle: Result

Main card

• Joe Pyfer def. Joe Pyfer via second-round TKO (punches)
• Maycee Barber def. Alexa Grasso via first-round KO (punch)
• Michael Chiesa def. Niko Price via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
• Lerryan Douglas def. Julian Erosa via first-round KO (punches)
• Yousri Belgaroui def. Mansur Abdul-Malik via third-round TKO (knee)
• Terrance McKinney def. Kyle Nelson via first-round TKO (punches)

Preliminary card

• Tofiq Musayev def. Ignacio Bahamondes via unanimous decision
• Lance Gibson Jr. def. Chase Hooper via first-round TKO (knees)
• Tyrell Fortune def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision
• Casey O’Neill def Gabriella Fernandes via first-round KO (punches)
• Navajo Stirling def. Bruno Lopes via second-round TKO (punches)
• Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez – majority draw
• Alexia Thainara def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision

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“Whatever he does, I support him.”

Adesanya vs Pyfer – what happened?

Both men stood tall as Pyfer shot for a takedown in the first minute of round one, but the American failed to drag Adesanya to the canvas with his first attempt.

Pyfer quickly showed his rapid hands with a fast combination and caught Adesanya with a left hook before just missing a huge elbow.

It was clear ‘Bodybagz’ was gunning for an early KO as time ticked on and he tried another takedown to no avail.

Adesanya landed some nice calf kicks throughout the opening five minutes, which later left Pyfer uneasy on his lead leg.

But Pyfer eventually secured his first takedown in the final 20 seconds to seemingly take the round.

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There was an instant timeout at the beginning of round two when Adesanya caught Pyfer with an eye poke.

After a brief halt in proceedings, Pyfer came out swinging, but Adesanya was growing in confidence as he kept chipping away at the American’s legs.

It wasn’t long before we had a fight on our hands as Adesanya stood right in Pyfer’s face with a willingness to be hit while trying to counter his opponent on the back foot.

Both men had their hands down and Pyfer was now finding a lot of success on the feet, until he sensed an opening and brought the former champion to the canvas.

Pyfer took Adesanya’s back and expertly manoeuvred himself to top mount before slicing ‘The Last Stylebender’ with a nasty elbow.

Adesanya, having taken a lot of damage to the face, was forced to give up his back, and the fight was all but over.

Pyfer quickly flattened Adesanya and was in full control of his opponent.

With nowhere to go, Adesanya lay flat on his front as ‘Bodybagz’ unloaded multiple shots to earn the second-round stoppage.