Morning Report | Henry Cejudo: Israel Adesanya probably retires if he loses at UFC Seattle
Israel Adesanya could be fighting for his MMA career this weekend.
This Saturday, Adesanya takes on Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Seattle. It’s a pivotal fight for the former two-time middleweight champion, who is in the worst stretch of his career, having lost three consecutive fights. A loss to Pyfer would not only be his fourth in a row, but it also would be Adesanya’s first MMA loss to an unranked opponent, and according to Henry Cejudo, it could mean the end of his career.
“Yes,” Cejudo told Kamaru Usman on their Pound-4-Pound podcast when asked if Adesanya will retire if he loses. “It depends on what fashion, but I think so. I think when the ship has sailed, the ship has sailed. I think you just come to the realization — and I’m speaking for myself. Maybe it’s not so much the talent, but it’s more the desire, and it’s more of, I want to do other things with my time now. There’s things that you enjoy. And I think Israel’s already there.
“He’s already DJing, he’s doing a bunch of other stuff. Like, he’s already kind of planning for his future. So, when people are already starting to do things, they already know the time is coming. Even for me, I was already in real estate, the content business pretty heavy. So, yeah, I do feel like if Israel does get finished or loses in this fight, I think he’s done.”
Cejudo understands Adesanya’s predicament well. A former two-division champion, Cejudo ended his MMA career on a four-fight losing streak, retiring for the second time after falling short against Payton Talbott at UFC 323 in December. And according to Cejudo, even that was later than he should have done it.
“I knew that it was time to hang it up,” Cejudo said. “I knew that it was time to hang it up like two fights ago, prior to that. Not because of talent or any of that, but just the desire where my time was being given. So, I think if Israel Adesanya is giving his time to the podcast world and the DJ stuff, that’s the stuff that takes a toll on your body. It’s not age. Age is just a number, as they say. It’s the lifestyle.
“So, yeah, I do believe that if Israel does lose, this is his last dance.”
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I don’t know if Cejudo is right, but he should be right. If Adesanya loses on Saturday, it probably means he got KOed, and if he gets KOed again, it’s time to walk away. And there’s no shame in that. Adesanya is already a Hall of Famer, but a first-ballot one as an individual as well, and one of the best fighters of this generation. Hell of a career. Let’s see if it ends on Saturday.
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