“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall.”
Israel Adesanya, the Last Stylebender, gets his fight on again tomorrow in Riyadh.
The former middleweight UFC champion finds himself in an unusual situation, he comes from a place of weakness. He has lost his last two fights; indeed, he has only tasted bloodied victory in half of his last eight fights.
A fall from grace? The natural implosion of a shooting star? The pursuing pack catching and tearing apart their prey?
Regardless of how you describe it, the former golden boy of the octagon will enter the fray on Sunday morning as the hunted, cradling the experiential knowledge of repeat defeats.
His opponent also knows the Stylebender’s suit of armour has been dented, compromised. Nassourdine Imavov is a fighter on the up. Three wins on the bounce in ‘24 against top 10 fighter, he sees this exchange as his gateway to a title fight.
An athlete in the ascendancy versus an athlete plateauing.
Israel spoke earlier in his career of how humble he is. That may have been carefully designed rhetoric to offset his larger than life ego, but now he has been humbled. His last two losses, against Strickland and Du Plessis, have crashed his McLaren, torn his Gucci suit and stolen his Rolex.
This fight isn’t pay-per-view, it’s not a title fight. This is an unusual position for the former champ, but a position that will ultimately be the best for his career.
Stripped back, naked if you will, in full glare of his legions of fans and fully exposed to the slings and arrows of those hungry to see him fall, this battle could reignite one of the greatest fighters of his generation or push him into the yawning abyss.
He reached deep into his id the night he first won the middleweight belt, tomorrow morning he’ll have to reach deeper.
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