It was in 2019 when Israel Adesanya put his undefeated MMA record on the line to face Anderson Silva. It was UFC 234. ‘The Last Stylebender’ won via unanimous decision, but there was nothing to be happy about. He defeated his idol; The man he looked up to. So when Bruce Buffer announced the winner, ‘Izzy’ got down on his knees to bow to the veteran. It was a passing of the torch moment, but fast forward to the current day; Is the Nigerian-born fighter facing the same situation that plagued Silva back in the day?

After the UFC Fight Night 250 bout against Nassourdine Imavov, Adesanya is now on a three-fight losing streak. Many fans feel that the former champ, who turns 36 this year, doesn’t have it in him to fight at the highest level, let alone win the title again. Add Adesanya’s #6 ranked division-mate, Caio Borralho, to this list.

In a new interview with ‘Submission Radio’, he stated: “I think he [Adesanya] might fight again, I don’t think he can have a run to the title again, you know, because [of a] three [fight] losing streak. I don’t think if he gets the win [in] the next one. I don’t think he deserve the title [shot]. Even though, like, he’s one of the GOATS and all that,” Borralho opined.

And the reason Borralho thinks this is simple—’Izzy’, the pure striker, is too one-dimensional, and the new crop of fighters is much more well-rounded. This, of course, is clearly the case with Imavov. While Imavov is primarily a striker, he does have a more than serviceable grappling game.

“But I think the division is like renewing, you know, with the fighters – another level of fighters. And I think the time in the MMA that people that were good only in one subject of the game, I think the time is passing, you know. I think now the time of MMA is the time of people that are complete, they are well-rounded and I think he misses a little bit on that,” Borralho added.

“Maybe he cannot find a face again in the MMA competition like he used to. So, I don’t think you are going to have a run again for the title but I think he can do fun fights. I think he can do big fights. He is a still a big name. One of the best to ever do it. So I think he can keep in getting money, you know. But I don’t think he can be champ again.”

But it seems Israel Adesanya has more to worry about than just his lack of ground game. What could it be?

Recent losses show a worrying trend for Israel Adesanya…

To be fair, Nassourdine Imavov defeated Adesanya on the feet, and ‘Izzy’ has beaten his fair share of pretty good grapplers. Sean Strickland also beat the former champ on the feet, as did Alex Pereira in their first fight nearly three years ago (November 2022). The only exception to this is Dricus Du Plessis submitting the Kiwi-Nigerian last year.

What seems to be an even bigger problem than Adesanya’s lack of grappling is that, unlike before, he doesn’t have any punch resistance like he did against Kelvin Gastelum in 2019, and isn’t as quick as he used to be.

While he looked very good against Imavov in the first round, he got caught with a solid right hook in the second. The 2019-22 version of Adesanya would have taken the punch without getting fazed. He would have recovered quickly.

But not the nearly 36-year-old version of him, who was sent crashing to the ground and looked done. That doesn’t mean Adesanya, who remains one of the biggest UFC stars, cannot make millions and put on entertaining fights, because as Borralho pointed out, his fans would love to see him in some big-money fights.

What do you think about Caio Borralho’s take on Israel Adesanya’s future? Let us know in the comments below.