UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre had a front-row seat for the stunning end to UFC Saudi Arabia.
When it comes to fighting, not a lot surprises Georges St-Pierre after his legendary career inside the Octagon. But after a fellow legend suffered a stunning loss at UFC Saudi Arabia, St-Pierre’s reaction was an exception to this sentiment.
Israel Adesanya, despite a strong Round 1 against Nassourdine Imavov, suffered his third consecutive defeat to Imavov by second-round TKO. It was the second time in his UFC career he’s lost by TKO/KO, and his second-straight stoppage loss.
Just two years after a stunning knockout finish against Alex Pereira, Adesanya is now in foreign territory in discussing his UFC future. While he’s one of the top pound-for-pound strikers in MMA, Adesanya’s sudden decline prompted recent calls from fans to retire.
St-Pierre, an avid fan of Adesanya, looked forward to a potential triumphant return to the Octagon at UFC Saudi Arabia. But the fight didn’t turn out how he hoped it would, and Imavov’s career-best win left him frozen in shock.
Georges St-Pierre echoes majority of fan reactions to Israel Adesanya’s stunning KO loss
As Imavov dropped Adesanya with a wicked uppercut, St-Pierre was caught by the UFC social media team live reacting to the finish. The former UFC middleweight champion was surrounded by boisterous spectators reacting to Adesanya’s latest setback.
St-Pierre treated fans to several stunning moments during his legendary career, for better and for worse. His welterweight title loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69 is still talked about as one of the biggest all-time upsets in MMA history.
Upset defeats to Matt Hughes and Serra prompted St-Pierre to make several changes, which led to one of the most dominant runs in welterweight history. He returned against Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to become one of the UFC’s few two-division titleholders.
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Israel Adesanya non-committal on UFC future after extending career-worst skid
As for Adesanya, he was non-specific about his immediate fighting future after extending his ongoing losing streak. It’s the first losing skid of his MMA career after winning 23 of his first 25 professional bouts.
One of Adesanya’s former rivals called him out for a fight after UFC Saudi Arabia. Imavov will likely get a No. 1 contender fight, at worst, for his next booking after the biggest win of his young career.
Bisping and others believe Adesanya’s best fighting days are firmly behind him, but after multiple past retirement teases, a comeback is still possible. It remains to be seen if Adesanya will ever return to the form that made him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
- READ MORE: ‘It’s over’… Israel Adesanya written off by UFC legend following KO in third straight defeat