Wow, so Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman, huh? There’s something weirdly fascinating about these two guys—both are former UFC champs and they kinda climbed up the ladder together. They didn’t exactly tango under the bright lights of a UFC octagon officially, but hey, they sparred a bit down in sunny South Florida. And Adesanya? Yeah, he tossed that footage up on YouTube. You gotta love modern-day connectivity.
Alright, quick history lesson, if you’re out of the loop: Adesanya, aka “The Last Stylebender” (seriously, can we just take a moment to appreciate that nickname?), grabbed hold of the middleweight crown back at UFC 243 in October 2019. That knockout against Robert Whittaker? Oof, still gives me chills. Before that, he had a sort of “interim champ” badge on him, whatever that means these days. Meanwhile, Usman took down Tyron Woodley like a boss at UFC 235 in March 2019 to snag the welterweight title. Legends in their own time, am I right?
But legends fall too, I guess. Adesanya’s journey kinda hit a speed bump when Alex Pereira snatched the title from him at UFC 282. Talk about a rollercoaster, he bounced back at UFC 287, only to then run into Sean Strickland and, well, let’s just say that wasn’t exactly a fairy tale ending. Now the guy’s stuck on a three-fight losing streak but still hanging in there at No. 4 in the middleweight division. Go figure.
Usman’s not having a picnic either. Lost his welterweight shine at UFC 278 thanks to Leon Edwards, and then, well, rinse and repeat at UFC 286. And don’t even get me started on his tiff with Khamzat Chimaev, which was, surprise surprise, another loss. Meanwhile, his work schedule looked more like a chaotic middleweight mash-up at UFC 294. Somehow, he stayed relevant enough to snag No. 4 in his class.
So there they are—two guys who’ve been to the top, clearly not in the best chapter of their careers, but y’know what? They’re still giving it whatever they got. I mean, life’s a ladder, right? In the wild, wild world of UFC, you’re either climbing or plunging, and these guys? They’ve decided to keep climbing—even if it looks like a loopy playground slide half the time.
