Follow the action as Israel Adesanya returns to the UFC octagon against Joe Pyfer in Seattle. <\/p>\n
Preview<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cF***, it\u2019s almost a decade, ay? 2018. That\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n True to form, Israel Adesanya makes no attempt to censor himself as we meet at City Kickboxing\u2019s Morningside headquarters on a beautiful Wednesday morning to discuss his UFC career to date.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n That authenticity has long been part of the charm of the only two-time UFC middleweight champion, and it\u2019s fitting the most recent interview should start in a similarly colourful fashion to our first, back in January 2018, when he was preparing for his UFC debut against Rob Wilkinson.<\/a><\/p>\n Winning that fight by second-round TKO set The Last Stylebender on track to what would become one of the greatest runs in the division\u2019s history; the new dog in the yard, hungry and ready to claim the division as his territory.<\/p>\n Within 15 months of that debut, Adesanya had fought another five times, including two main events, and claimed the interim title, which he turned into the undisputed belt later in 2019.<\/p>\n During an interview in 2019, Adesanya told me he knew how to clock the game.<\/a> Now, asked to revisit that line as he prepares for his UFC Seattle headliner against rising American Joe Pyfer, the 36-year-old admires his work.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s actually a good one, \u2018I know how to clock this game\u2019. I feel like, to be honest, yeah,\u201d Adesanya tells the Herald.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you know when you clock a game and you still have other missions to complete? Like, there\u2019s the main mission, the story mission, but you still have the side missions where it\u2019s, \u2018I\u2019ll do that after I\u2019ve clocked the game\u2019, I\u2019m kind of on that now.\u201d<\/p>\n To date, Adesanya has held the UFC middleweight title twice. He holds the second-longest winning streak in the division with 12 in a row, is tied for the most knockdowns in the middleweight division (13), and is tied for the third-most post-fight bonuses in the division (eight). He was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last year for his fight against American Kelvin Gastelum in which he won the interim title.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a record No 14-ranked Pyfer praises. The American, who had hoped to train with No 4-ranked Adesanya as he never expected he\u2019d get a chance to share the octagon with him, tells the Herald he holds his opponent in high regard.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI told him I wanted to train with him at some point, I think it\u2019d be cool,\u201d Pyfer says of a past meeting with Adesanya.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s one of the better kickboxers in our division. I think he\u2019s the middleweight goat, so yeah, it didn\u2019t happen, but maybe after this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n