UFC President Dana White officially confirmed: former middleweight promotion champion Israel Adesanya (24-4) will hold his first fight after more than a year-long hiatus against Joe Pfeiffer (13-3), who is currently experiencing arguably the best period in his professional career. The fight will take place on March 28 in Seattle at UFC Fight Night 271.
Adesanya has not entered the octagon since February 2025, when he was brutally knocked out by Nassurdin Imavov. Before that - two painful losses in title fights: Sean Strickland's dominant points victory and a submission by Du Plessis. Three defeats in a row — this has never happened in the Nigerian's career.
On the other side of the octagon is Joe Pfeiffer, who for the past year and a half looks like a person who has finally found himself in the middleweight division. He is on a streak of three convincing victories, two of which ended prematurely: a quick knockout, a dominant decision, and a choke in the second round. Now Pfeiffer has something he has often lacked before — real confidence in every step.
It is worth adding that at the moment in the UFC middleweight ranking, Adesanya is in 6th place, Pfeiffer - 15th.
