Following his second-round TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 in Saudi Arabia, two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya dropped two spots to fourth in the official UFC rankings.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander’s defeat, his third in a row, caused a big shift in the middleweight rankings, with Imavov moving up to second place ahead of Khamzat Chimaev.
Despite the French contender’s higher ranking, Chimaev is still expected to challenge the winner of the championship rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, according to MMA journalist and official media voter John Morgan.
The 35-year-old Adesanya, who entered the bout looking to snap his first-ever consecutive losing streak, had lost his title to Strickland at UFC 293 before suffering another defeat to du Plessis at UFC 305 last August.
His latest setback came after a promising start against Imavov, where he landed several effective low kicks.
However, the Dagestani-born fighter dropped Adesanya with a massive right hand in the second round before following up with a left uppercut and ground strikes, forcing referee Marc Goddard to stop the contest.
The defeat marks the first time in six years and 12 fights that Adesanya has competed without a UFC championship on the line. His professional record now stands at 24 wins with 16 knockouts and four defeats in his 13-year MMA career.
Meanwhile, the middleweight division has witnessed other notable changes, with Roman Kopylov entering the rankings at No. 14 following his fifth-round TKO win over Chris Curtis in January, while undefeated prospect Bo Nickal has made his rankings debut at No. 15.
Following the loss, Adesanya took to social media, displaying his characteristic resilience; “As real as it gets, @ufc. Rolled the dice…snake eyes. I’ll be back, gone to get some milk.”
