Israel Adesanya lost again, so it has to be asked where exactly he stands in the rapidly shifting middleweight hierarchy.
Rankings Shakeup: Is Israel Adesanya still a top 5 middleweight?
Alexander K. Lee is an editor for MMA Fighting who has been covering combat sports since 2014.
This wasn’t just another loss for Adesanya, the two-time UFC champion who has now just 1-4 since 2022. No, the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia this past Saturday felt different, like a true passing of the torch to the up-and-coming Nassourdine Imavov, who floored Adesanya in the second round en route to a shocking knockout win.
There’s no question Imavov deserves to be talked about alongside the best at 185 pounds, and he earns the No. 4 spot in our rankings with that momentous victory. But how far does Adesanya fall?
Heading into the bout, I was optimistic Adesanya would get back on the winning track and I stripped out what silver lining I could from his recent losses (He was up on one scorecard against Dricus du Plessis! He was winning the first Alex Pereira fight until he wasn’t and he smashed Pereira in the rematch! Sean Strickland is just weird!). Heck, you could even cope with the Imavov loss by complaining it was early (it was, but it still wasn’t a bad stoppage).
At some point though, losses are losses, and it’s getting tougher to argue that Adesanya, who turns 36 in July, is still an elite middleweight. For now, despite two members of our voting panel dropping him out of the top 5, Adesanya still garnered enough support to hang on to the No. 5 spot, but how long does he get to stay there especially if he decides to take time away from competition?
What about fighters like Caio Borralho and Anthony Hernandez? Borralho is 7-0 in the UFC and has won 16 straight fights overall, while Hernandez has won his past six fights inside the octagon. Not only do these two look like future title challengers, you can make a case now that they’ve done enough to take pass Adesanya on the list. You could even put undefeated Bellator champion Johnny Eblen over Adesanya and it wouldn’t sound crazy.
It’s unclear if we’ve seen the last of “The Last Stylebender” near the top of the middleweight rankings, but you can check out the updated chart (sorry Marvin Vettori, you’re out due to inactivity. See you in March!) and let us know where you think Adesanya should be positioned in the poll below.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): 7 Nassourdine Imavov def. No. 4 Israel Adesanya
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 3 Sean Strickland (UFC 312, Feb. 8), No. 9 Anthony Hernandez vs. No. 12 Brendan Allen (UFC Seattle, Feb. 22), No. 10 Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues (UFC Fight Night, Feb. 15), No. 13 Roman Dolidze vs. Marvin Vettori (UFC Vegas 104, March 15)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Michel Pereira (4), Fabian Edwards (1), Jack Hermansson (1), Roman Kopylov (1), Michael Page (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): Marvin Vettori (inactivity, see you in March!)
