For the first time since unifying the belt in 2019, 33-year-old boxer, Israel Adesanya, is no longer sitting atop the middleweight division.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander has dropped in the latest UFC pound-for-pound rankings following his defeat to long-time rival, Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on 13 November.
Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defeated Adesanya for the third time when he stopped him in the fifth round via TKO.
Using a criteria that takes into account everything from accomplishments to current form, here are the current top fighters inside the Octagon:
- Alexander Volkanovski – Featherweight champion (24-1)
Previous ranking: No. 1 - Kamaru Usman – Welterweight (20-2)
Previous ranking: No. 3 - Islam Makhachev – Lightweight champion (23-1)
Previous ranking: 4 - Francis Ngannou – Heavyweight champion (16-3)
Previous ranking: No. 5 - Israel Adesanya – Middleweight champion (23-2)
Previous ranking: No. 2
The former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, believes that he would have retained his belt against Alex Pereira on Sunday at UFC 281 at the Madison Square Garden if the referee hadn’t called a stoppage when he did.
Despite leading on all three scorecards in his UFC 281 title defense against long-time kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, Adesanya succumbed to a fifth-round stoppage for his first loss at middleweight inside the Octagon. An immediate rematch.
“I was fine. First thing I said to the referee was that I was fine, I was still lucid. But yeah, sh*t happens,” the Nigerian-New Zealander told reporters in the post-fight press conference.
“Well, I talked to my coaches and I trust them. But I was fine, my eyes might have rolled back a little bit but I was lucid.
“My ego would say at least let me go out on my shield but I don’t think I would have gone out because I was still there. He might have gone on to win that round but I would still be champion.”
Adesanya responded positively to talks of a rematch: “Of course, this is my third fight in 10 months. Every time I fight, I risked losing (the belt). I put it on the line because I am not trying to do it just once and this is what happens, but again, dare to be great, and I am.
“Right now, I am just focused on rehydrating and doing the obligations.”