Adesanya feels ‘unappreciated’ ahead of Pyfer fight

Former UFC Middleweight King Israel Adesanya will have another crack at returning to the winning column this weekend when he faces the rising Joe Pyfer at the Climate Pledge Arena in a Fight Night in Washington on Sunday morning.

Main card to commence at 2am (CAT, GMT+2).

As one of the fight game’s most recognizable stars, Adesanya (24-5-0) is coming off a three-fight losing streak after defeats against Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis and Nassourdine Imavov respectively.

Now a shadow of his former self, Stylebender last featured in February 2025 where he suffered a knockout loss against Imavov at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya v Imavov in Saudi Arabia.

Now 36, the Nigerian is ranked fourth in the Middleweight standings, while Pyfer hopes to work his way up from 14th place.

Pyfer (15-3-0), recorded a submission win via a face crank against Abusupiyan Magomedov in his most recent fight, which took place in October 2025 in Las Vegas, earning him the Performance of the Night award.

The 29-year-old’s most notable win came in June 2025, where he defeated the experienced Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision at UFC316. Also, the American is currently on a three-fight win streak in the UFC after his loss against Jack Hermansson in February 2024.

Speaking ahead of the fight, Adesanya believes the UFC Middleweight division is ‘stuck’ without him, amid feeling unacknowledged in the sport.

"The last guy who put it on the line, regardless, called out the best, was me,” Adesanya said.

“So yeah, that's one thing I can say that people didn't appreciate until – even I didn't appreciate until now that I'm here watching it, and I'm like, 'Damn. This game is slow and just stuck without me.'

“That, and I'm sure there's other things as well, but that's one thing I can say that people didn't appreciate, even I might not have appreciated, was how active I was and how much I gave to the game while I was holding the belt."

In the co-main event, the popular Alexa Grasso will take on Maycee Barber for the second time in the women’s Flyweight division. Grasso, a former UFC Champion is currently on a two-fight losing streak following defeats against Valentina Shevchenko and Natalia Silva.

Barber suffered a unanimous decision loss against Grasso at UFC258 in February 2021 and has since won each of her last seven fights as she puts her name among the contenders list for a title shot.

UFC Fight Night: Adesanya v Pyfer Main Card:

Israel Adesanya v Joe Pyfer (Main event – Middleweight)

Alexa Grasso v Maycee Barber (Co-main – Women Flyweight)

Micheal Chiesa v Niko Price (Welterweight)

Julian Erosa v Lerryan Douglas (Featherweight)

Mansur Abdul-Malik v Yousri Belgaroui (Middleweight)

Terrance McKinney v Kyle Nelson (Lightweight)