Michael Bisping has cast doubt on Israel Adesanya’s future in the sport, declaring the striking specialist’s championship aspirations effectively over. ‘Izzy’, of course, shockingly got obliterated by Nassourdine Imavov in their UFC Saudi Arabia clash in the second round. This means that the former 2-time middleweight champ is 1-4 in his last five fights.

And predictably, there is a lot of chatter among fans that Adesanya is washed up, past his prime, and doesn’t have the reflexes and speed to win at the highest level. But then again that would have been expected from the famously fickle UFC fans. But Bisping, a UFC commentator and former champion saying this just shows how pervasive this view is in the MMA community.

“Can you believe this the reign of Israel Adesanya, it’s over? It’s done. And I say that with the greatest of respect. Israel Adesanya is an absolute legend of this sport. He will be in the Hall of Fame and he may go on to fight again. But I don’t think he’ll ever fight for a middleweight championship or a belt of any kind,” Bisping said on his official YouTube channel.

The UFC commentator, however, did go on to profusely praise ‘Izzy’ for all his achievements and being one of the most popular fighters in the entire sport. In fact, ‘The Count’ felt that Adesanya’s apparent downfall was down to the unforgiving nature of the sport itself, and not necessarily anything the Yoruba did.

“This sport is a mother—er, okay. You scratch and claw, you work your way to the top, you know. You deal with a lot of s–t, you work your goddamn a-s off, you go through injuries, you put relationships to one side… But when you get there it’s great, you’re the champion of the world and Israel Adesanya has done that. He’s become a legend… It picks you up, it uses you up, it chews you up, and then it spits you out,” Bisping, speaking from first-hand experience, added. But what does Israel Adesanya think about his future? Well, let’s find out.

Could Israel Adesanya retire after the humiliating outing at UFC Saudi Arabia?

Israel Adesanya took the Imavov loss remarkably well. Or at least so it seemed at the post-fight presser, where the Kiwi-Nigerian pointed out that he looked really good in the first round. He even found it in his heart to congratulate his Dagestan-born opponent. But on the biggest question- what next for him, ‘Izzy’ seemed tentative.

“I will relax first for a little bit, just help the teammates who have fights coming up, and yeah, see what I want to do. I was going to do that anyway, but you know, now I’m forced to. Shout-out to Nassourdine for that,” he said.

And that does seem like the best course of action for him. But could Adesanya decide to retire, perhaps fearing a downfall like Anderson Silva? For the unversed, the GOAT contender won just 1 out of his last 9 inside the cage. Perhaps, but that seems unlikely. As Adesanya pointed out, he looked good in the first round. And he would be leaving a lot of money on the table if he decided to retire now.

No. What is more likely is that he continues fighting. And who knows, maybe prove Bisping and the fans wrong by having an epic comeback and winning the title. What do you think about Michael Bisping’s thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s future?