UFC legend says Seattle loss would mark Israel Adesanya retirement
· Yahoo Sports
Should he lose at UFC Fight Night 271, will Israel Adesanya be done?
UFC legend Michael Bisping thinks so, ahead of Adesanya's middleweight main event Saturday vs. Joe Pyfer at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
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"If Izzy loses this one, I think that'll be the end of his career," Bisping said recently on the "Believe You Me" podcas. "I think he will choose to say, 'I clearly haven't got it anymore because back in the day I would've smoked someone like Joe Pyfer.' The reality is, what is he, (36) years old? It comes to everyone, and this sport decides when you retire. The sport retires you, and you don't retire from the sport. And that could be what we're seeing, or it could just be he had a good run in fighting, a lot of kickboxers and not the most wrestlers. I'm not trying to rip on his career. Then you go against Dricus (Du Plessis), had a bad night against (Sean) Strickland you go up against (Alex) Pereira. There's no shame in any of these losses. (Nassourdine) Imavov could be the next guy. But when it's four out of five, then you lose to Joe Pyfer, who is (ranked) No. 13, then it's five out of six. When you're losing five out of your last six, that's time to walk away."
While many fighters don't have a clear way to make money after their career ends, Bisping doesn't think Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) falls under that umbrella. He sees similiarities between Adesanya and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who has done a tremendous job of building a YouTube channel post-fighting.
"(Adesanya) has made a lot of money. He smashed it out of the park and defended the belt four or five times," Bisping said. "He's talking about going off and becoming a DJ next, so he's already got his next path kind of carved out. I think if he loses this one, he retires from the sport. But my official prediction is Israel Adesanya via decision. He will win the fight."
Time will only tell if Adesanya will even be faced with that choice. Should he beat Pyfer (15-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), Adesanya will snap a three-fight skid and likely align himself for a more marquee matchup in his next fight.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC legend predicts Israel Adesanya retires if he loses in Seattle