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.