Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will return to motion for the primary time in over a yr when he faces Joe Pyfer in Seattle, Washington on 28 March.
Nigerian-born New Zealander Adesayna hasn’t fought since he was knocked out by Frenchman Nassourdine Imavov final February in a 3rd straight defeat.
The 36-year-old, who has eight wins in UFC middleweight title fights – second solely to Anderson Silva’s report of 11 – has not received since beating Alex Pereira in 2023.
Adesanya dominated the middleweight division between 2020 and 2022 the place he defended his title 5 instances, however defeat towards American Pyfer will elevate questions on his UFC future.
Pyfer, 29, is ranked fifteenth within the UFC’s middleweight rankings and has received six of his seven fights within the organisation.
Adesayna, who’s ranked sixth, has received simply certainly one of 5 fights in almost 4 years.
After defeat by Imavov, Adesanya stated he needed to take a while out earlier than specializing in “serving to his team-mates” put together for upcoming bouts.
He has additionally stated chasing titles is now not his intention, along with his precedence shifting to desirous to struggle extra freely and take extra dangers contained in the octagon.
The bout with Pyfer takes place at Seattle’s Local weather Pledge Area on a card which additionally sees Mexican former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso tackle American Maycee Barber.
