Latest news with #AnalystoftheYear
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Analyst: Israel Adesanya being 'a hair slower' than prime is biggest obstacle to UFC rebound
Every fighter experiences a decline, but when it happens at the highest level of the sport, the flaws that lead to it can have an even greater spotlight. That's what coach Sayif Saud sees happening to former UFC middleweight champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Israel Adesanya, who saw his losing skid hit a career-worst three fights in a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 this month. After losing consecutive championship bouts to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, the once-longtime titleholder Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) found himself in a different spot. His streak of 12 consecutive title fights was over and he was in a non-title bout for the first time since 2019 against a surging contender in Imavov. He said all the right things heading in, and started with a strong first round. But then it fell apart. Imavov landed a big punch on Adesanya in the second round that rocked "The Last Stylebender." He pounded and got the knockout finish in what was a breakthrough moment for his career, but the post-fight narrative was firmly on Adesanya and what his future holds. Saud, who is the head coach at Fortis MMA and was an Analyst of the Year nominee at the 16th annual World MMA Awards, saw this is a natural progression of Adesanya's career. At 35 and with more than 100 combat sports bouts on his record, Saud thinks Adesanya is experiencing the slightest fallout in what were once his strongest attributes. "I look at that fight and just think about how incredible Izzy has been and what he's done," Saud told MMA Junkie. "I see everybody and they're like sad. It's kind like mourning this great fighter. But this happens to every single fighter after a certain point, because they fight at the very elite level. The thing about these champions is once they get to that level, everybody you fight is on the way up and is the very best of the new breed or the new generation or whatever. Nassourdine is a good example of that. He's five or six or seven years younger than Izzy, in his prime and hungry. It's constantly like being at the very tip of the sphere against the most amount of danger, and how long can you do that for? "At 35 years old, if you're just a hair slower, just a hair, just like Roy Jones Jr. The guy was all reflexes. He would hit people and come back and they couldn't even touch him. He got just a hair slower and that was the difference. So I think that's what we're seeing with Izzy. I still think he looked really, really good in the fight. I think he can beat tons of people. I think he can beat Nassourdine in a fight. But with the style that he has and the way that he strikes, in that division with the young guys coming up (it's tough)." Although Adesanya has yet to make a definitive statement about what his fighting future holds, his path to victories aren't going to get any easier. Unless he takes a dramatic step down in competition, Saud said everyone who enters the octagon with Adesanya will be studying him closely and coming for his head in this vulnerable position. Reigning champion Du Plessis said he thinks Adesanya does not have another title run in him, and Saud tends to agree we are witnessing a turnover with the elite at 185 pounds. "We see a big shift coming in the middleweight division," Saud said. "That was an example." Din Thomas says Israel Adesanya's fall happens to most UFC greats Kamaru Usman encourages Israel Adesanya to follow Anderson Silva's approach Sean Strickland shares uplifting message with Israel Adesanya after UFC Saudi Arabia loss To hear more of Saud's analysis of Adesanya's loss and future, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Analyst: Israel Adesanya being 'a hair slower' than prime is biggest obstacle to UFC rebound
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Analyst: Israel Adesanya being 'a hair slower' than prime is biggest obstacle to UFC rebound
Every fighter experiences a decline, but when it happens at the highest level of the sport, the flaws that lead to it can have an even greater spotlight. That's what coach Sayif Saud sees happening to former UFC middleweight champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Israel Adesanya, who saw his losing skid hit a career-worst three fights in a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 this month. After losing consecutive championship bouts to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, the once-longtime titleholder Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) found himself in a different spot. His streak of 12 consecutive title fights was over and he was in a non-title bout for the first time since 2019 against a surging contender in Imavov. He said all the right things heading in, and started with a strong first round. But then it fell apart. Imavov landed a big punch on Adesanya in the second round that rocked "The Last Stylebender." He pounded and got the knockout finish in what was a breakthrough moment for his career, but the post-fight narrative was firmly on Adesanya and what his future holds. Saud, who is the head coach at Fortis MMA and was an Analyst of the Year nominee at the 16th annual World MMA Awards, saw this is a natural progression of Adesanya's career. At 35 and with more than 100 combat sports bouts on his record, Saud thinks Adesanya is experiencing the slightest fallout in what were once his strongest attributes. "I look at that fight and just think about how incredible Izzy has been and what he's done," Saud told MMA Junkie. "I see everybody and they're like sad. It's kind like mourning this great fighter. But this happens to every single fighter after a certain point, because they fight at the very elite level. The thing about these champions is once they get to that level, everybody you fight is on the way up and is the very best of the new breed or the new generation or whatever. Nassourdine is a good example of that. He's five or six or seven years younger than Izzy, in his prime and hungry. It's constantly like being at the very tip of the sphere against the most amount of danger, and how long can you do that for? "At 35 years old, if you're just a hair slower, just a hair, just like Roy Jones Jr. The guy was all reflexes. He would hit people and come back and they couldn't even touch him. He got just a hair slower and that was the difference. So I think that's what we're seeing with Izzy. I still think he looked really, really good in the fight. I think he can beat tons of people. I think he can beat Nassourdine in a fight. But with the style that he has and the way that he strikes, in that division with the young guys coming up (it's tough)." Although Adesanya has yet to make a definitive statement about what his fighting future holds, his path to victories aren't going to get any easier. Unless he takes a dramatic step down in competition, Saud said everyone who enters the octagon with Adesanya will be studying him closely and coming for his head in this vulnerable position. Reigning champion Du Plessis said he thinks Adesanya does not have another title run in him, and Saud tends to agree we are witnessing a turnover with the elite at 185 pounds. "We see a big shift coming in the middleweight division," Saud said. "That was an example." Din Thomas says Israel Adesanya's fall happens to most UFC greats Kamaru Usman encourages Israel Adesanya to follow Anderson Silva's approach Sean Strickland shares uplifting message with Israel Adesanya after UFC Saudi Arabia loss To hear more of Saud's analysis of Adesanya's loss and future, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Analyst: Israel Adesanya being 'a hair slower' than prime is biggest obstacle to UFC rebound
USA Today
07-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Analyst: Israel Adesanya being 'a hair slower' than prime is biggest obstacle to UFC rebound
Every fighter experiences a decline, but when it happens at the highest level of the sport, the flaws that lead to it can have an even greater spotlight. That's what coach Sayif Saud sees happening to former UFC middleweight champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Israel Adesanya, who saw his losing skid hit a career-worst three fights in a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 this month. After losing consecutive championship bouts to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, the once-longtime titleholder Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) found himself in a different spot. His streak of 12 consecutive title fights was over and he was in a non-title bout for the first time since 2019 against a surging contender in Imavov. He said all the right things heading in, and started with a strong first round. But then it fell apart. Imavov landed a big punch on Adesanya in the second round that rocked 'The Last Stylebender.' He pounded and got the knockout finish in what was a breakthrough moment for his career, but the post-fight narrative was firmly on Adesanya and what his future holds. Saud, who is the head coach at Fortis MMA and was an Analyst of the Year nominee at the 16th annual World MMA Awards, saw this is a natural progression of Adesanya's career. At 35 and with more than 100 combat sports bouts on his record, Saud thinks Adesanya is experiencing the slightest fallout in what were once his strongest attributes. 'I look at that fight and just think about how incredible Izzy has been and what he's done,' Saud told MMA Junkie. 'I see everybody and they're like sad. It's kind like mourning this great fighter. But this happens to every single fighter after a certain point, because they fight at the very elite level. The thing about these champions is once they get to that level, everybody you fight is on the way up and is the very best of the new breed or the new generation or whatever. Nassourdine is a good example of that. He's five or six or seven years younger than Izzy, in his prime and hungry. It's constantly like being at the very tip of the sphere against the most amount of danger, and how long can you do that for? 'At 35 years old, if you're just a hair slower, just a hair, just like Roy Jones Jr. The guy was all reflexes. He would hit people and come back and they couldn't even touch him. He got just a hair slower and that was the difference. So I think that's what we're seeing with Izzy. I still think he looked really, really good in the fight. I think he can beat tons of people. I think he can beat Nassourdine in a fight. But with the style that he has and the way that he strikes, in that division with the young guys coming up (it's tough).' Although Adesanya has yet to make a definitive statement about what his fighting future holds, his path to victories aren't going to get any easier. Unless he takes a dramatic step down in competition, Saud said everyone who enters the octagon with Adesanya will be studying him closely and coming for his head in this vulnerable position. Reigning champion Du Plessis said he thinks Adesanya does not have another title run in him, and Saud tends to agree we are witnessing a turnover with the elite at 185 pounds. 'We see a big shift coming in the middleweight division,' Saud said. 'That was an example.' To hear more of Saud's analysis of Adesanya's loss and future, check out his complete appearance on 'The Bohnfire' podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.
USA Today
06-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Coach Sayif Saud: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 at UFC 312 will be violent 'chess match'
Coach Sayif Saud doesn't expect Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland to hold anything back when their UFC 312 rematch begins. Less than 13 months after Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) took the middleweight title off Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) by debated split decision at UFC 297, the pair will run it back in Saturday's headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). The first fight delivered some solid action but went down to the wire. Both men believe to this day they clearly one, with Strickland blaming poor judging as well as his performance being hindered by a cut he claims came from an illegal head butt. Du Plessis, meanwhile, thinks there was no controversy and intends on putting a stamp on the sequel. Saud, who is the head coach at Fortis MMA and was an Analyst of the Year nominee at the 16th annual World MMA Awards, thinks there's no shortage of motivation on both ends going into UFC 312, and that should create a high quality championship fight. 'Sean Strickland is not a f*cking game,' Saud told MMA Junkie. 'Sean Strickland is a guy that I think he builds confidence with experience. He has experience in there with Dricus, going at Dricus. People are kind of counting him out a little bit more in this fight saying, 'Well, Dricus is going to finish, Dricus is getting better and better.' That might be the case, but I still see this is a very close fight. I just think with the experience that Sean Strickland has, mentally I feel like he'll be more prepared. But again, the champion is 30 percent better every time. 'You become the champion, you're literally 30 percent better. The confidence that comes with that. Dricus is a f*cking beast. He knows it doesn't look great, but he don't care. His whole thing is, 'I'm going to out will you.' And that's powerful, man. Fighting is about will, and he out wills people. He really, really does. But that ain't going to be easy to go do against Sean Strickland, because Sean Strickland is a five-round fighter.' Strickland, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, has received some criticism for his fighting style not meeting the standards he sets with his pre-fight trash talk. Strickland has had some underwhelming performances, but the effectiveness of his jab and teep kicks cannot be underestimated. Saud anticipated Strickland's trademarks will all be there for the rematch, but he thinks there will be a more vicious intend to his approach in this particular contest. 'We've seen him when he hurts guys, he goes after them,' Saudi said of Strickland. 'I think he's going to try to hurt Dricus. I think he wants to hurt Dricus. I think he doesn't like Dricus, and I think Dricus doesn't like him, and I think we're going to see quite a battle.' No. 1-ranked Du Plessis, 31, won't be short on answers if Strickland, 33, turns up his desire for the finish, however, and that's why Saud thinks anyone predicting a dull contest will be proven wrong. 'I think we're going to see what we saw (in the first fight), but a little more aggressive version of that,' Saud said. 'I think they're going to add on a bit, they're going to study the tape and they're going to come up with some more stuff. But Dricus' coach is really, really good at game planning. This is going to be a real chess match between these two, and it's going to be violent.' To hear more of Saud's breakdown of Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 at UFC 312, check out his complete appearance on 'The Bohnfire' podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 312.
