Israel Adesanya’s career is at a pivotal moment where legacy and redemption intersect. A former champion at the crossroads of reinvention. A win against # 5 ranked Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia would get him back in title contention straight away. While a loss would be kinda catastrophic. Why? Well, not only will ‘Izzy’ slide down in the division, but there would undoubtedly be charges that the Kiwi-Nigerian is washed up and just doesn’t have it in him to win at a championship level anymore.

And with ‘Izzy’ turning 36 this year, time isn’t his friend either. And Daniel Cormier has rung the alarm bells for Adesanya going into the Imavov fight. Why? Well, the UFC commentator feels that if the former champ finds himself in dire straits against Imavov, he probably won’t have the same indefatigable spirit he once possessed.

“So like when that moment happens, like against [Kelvin] Gastelum, and he [Adesanya] was in the corner in the fifth round and he went ‘I’ll die for this.’ And he was like mouthing to himself ‘I’ll die for this, I’ll die for this’- he had money, he was a kickboxer champion, but he was fighting for an interim championship with the opportunity to get to Robert Whitaker to become the unified champion. He didn’t have money at the rate that he has right now, he didn’t have the zeros in the bank account, he didn’t have the accolades, he did not have the notoriety,” Cormier told co-host, Chael Sonnen, on their ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ show.

Of course, Israel Adesanya’s UFC 236 fight against Kelvin Gastelum is one of the most memorable in the history of the sport. Gastelum hurt Adesanya early in the fight and by the end of the fourth round, ‘Izzy’ was exhausted. But determined to win at all costs, ‘Izzy’ told himself that he was “willing to die” rather than lose to Gastelum.

The Yoruba prevailed in the end, managed to win a unanimous decision, and became a superstar after that fight. However, according to Daniel Cormier, that was a different Adesanya, one who wasn’t a veritable superstar, nor as rich as he is today. This is why Cormier fears ‘Izzy’ just won’t be able to do what he did against Gastelum, especially in the championship rounds.

“He’ll find himself in that fourth to fifth round with Imavov this weekend and have to dig deep knowing that nothing changes if he doesn’t, right? Nothing changes- Israel will still be a star if he wins or he loses. Israel will still collect the same paycheck on Saturday night if he loses, the money he has in the bank remains the same.”

“All of his investments, and properties will remain the same. How does he pull back to that moment when he didn’t have all those things if need be?… It’s hard to pull that dog out of you whenever you don’t get that thing that means so much when the night’s over,” Cormier said on his ESPN MMA show. On the other hand, Imavov, for reasons we’ll discuss in-depth, is in the perfect position to upset ‘Izzy’.

Why is Nassourdine Imavov a huge challenge for Israel Adesanya?

Nassourdine Imavov is primarily a striker, but he can grapple too. While the Frenchman doesn’t have any submission wins in the UFC so far, four of his career wins have come via submission. But the big question is- will his ground game be enough to trouble Adesanya? Probably not. With a takedown accuracy of under forty percent, it is unlikely that Imavov will be able to deal with Adesanya’s anti-wrestling style of fighting. At least that is what ‘Izzy’s former rival Robert Whittaker, who has fought the Yoruba twice, thinks.

“The way he [Adesanya] utilizes his counters, his aggressive fighting, his pressure with his length, and his faints make it very make him very hard to take down. And if you’re not taking him down, you’re having like a long night in the office,” ‘Bobby Knuckles’ said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Of course, what is also worth mentioning is that the Adesanya fight will be the biggest of Imavov’s career so far. If he wins, he will find himself in the title picture and see a significant boost in his popularity In short, ‘The Sniper’ is in the position that Adesanya found himself in against Gastelum.

With so much on the line, the French-Dagestani may be the one “willing to die” at UFC Saudi Arabia, which portends ill omens for ‘Izzy’. What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s take on Israel Adesanya’s prospects in his Imavov fight?