Preview: UFC Seattle ‘Adesanya vs. Pyfer’

UFC Seattle exemplifies the “old lions vs. young lions” dynamic of sport as well as any Octagon card in recent memory. For as long as sports in general and combat sports in particular have existed, the torch has been handed from one generation of champions to the next, usually through a series of direct confrontations.

Still, the main and co-main events of this weekend’s Fight Night in the Pacific Northwest feature especially classic—and similar—versions of that story. Israel Adesanya and Alexa Grasso are both former champs, facing contenders in Joe Pyfer and Maycee Barber who were long expected to reach this point, but whose journeys were delayed by injuries and an untimely defeat or two. Nonetheless, time is on the side of the up-and-comers here, as there is a feeling, fair or not, that if Adesanya and Grasso lose here, they may never again be this close to regaining their titles.

Outside of those high-stakes contenders’ matchups, the rest of the main slate is rich with storylines, including a friendly farewell booking for a Washington State icon, a couple of all-action bangers and a clash of two intriguing middleweight prospects. Here is the preview for the main card of UFC Fight Night 271, also known as UFC Seattle: Middleweights Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer BETTING ODDS: Adesanya (-130); Pyfer (+110) Adesanya (24-5; 13-5 UFC) looks to snap the first losing streak of his legendary career here, and while his roster spot might well be safe even if he loses a fourth straight fight on Saturday, any last vestiges of relevance in the middleweight title picture are definitely on the chopping block.

The decline of “The Last Stylebender” is a tale as old as sport. With a dazzling, bewildering game built on movement, timing and reflexes, it stood to reason that Adesanya’s performance would fall off quickly once those traits began to fade, but the reality is not quite as ugly as the three consecutive losses might imply. It isn’t as though Adesanya is suddenly losing to bad fighters; it’s simply that as his speed and durability have slipped, he is now susceptible to attacks he would have laughed off five years ago: Dricus Du Plessis managed to corral him and take him down repeatedly in a way that determined wrestlers like Derek Brunson and Kelvin Gastelum once struggled, while Nassourdine Imavov was able to catch him with clean power shots where big hitters such as Paulo Costa and Yoel Romero whiffed.