Adesanya apologises to fans, vows to bounce back from defeat
Former UFC Mixed Martial Arts middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has apologised for disappointing his fans after suffering his third consecutive loss in the hands of Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia, reports bjpenn.com.
Adesanya (24-5 MMA) returned to action at the weekend for the first time since suffering a submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis (22-2 MMA) in August at UFC 305.
The former UFC middleweight champion was looking to avoid the first three-fight losing skid of his career, as he had dropped a decision to Sean Strickland prior to being tapped out by ‘DDP’.
Standing in the way of Izzy’s return to the win column was surging middleweight Nassourdine Imavov (16-4 MMA). ‘The Sniper’ had entered Saturday’s headliner sporting a three-fight winning streak, his most recent being a unanimous decision victory over Brendan Allen.
The UFC Saudi Arabia main event resulted in a third consecutive loss for Adesanya. After a competitive opening round, Nassourdine Imavov was able to drop ‘The Last Stylebender’ with an uppercut early in the second round. ‘The Sniper’ immediately pounced on Izzy with some heavy ground and pound, which ultimately prompted the referee to step in and call a stop to the contest.
“Disappointed,” Adesanya said about his performance. “I hate disappointing my fans and my team. My team’s still proud of me for the work that I put into this. It’s just the thrill and agony.”
He expressed his disappointment with the result, saying: “I don’t think it’s for them to know. You have to really be in it to know. Only a privileged few will ever get to this point and understand.
To be able to feel something so great but also able to feel something so deep and so [frustrating]. It’s a f*cking lovely game, but it’s a