Israel Adesanya has dropped three straight and four of his last five. What is more troubling is “The Last Stylebender” has looked progressively worse in each defeat. At the same time, he was also facing the four best middleweights in the world (Pereira would later abandon ship), so it’s not like he was getting slept by bottom-ranked bums. I just don’t know how much faith I have in his durability at this stage. After all, the former middleweight champion turns 37 in July and will compete in his thirtieth MMA fight this weekend in Seattle. On top of that, Adesanya registered more than 80 fights in kickboxing, Muay Thai, and boxing before transitioning to MMA full time. “You know how the game is,” Adesanya said during UFC Seattle media day. “People say, ‘you’re only as good as your last fight.’ When I’m done this weekend, I want people to be like, ‘Wow, f—k, how did I ever doubt him? How did I ever think he was done? Like what the f—k was I thinking?’ That’s the story I want to write this weekend. I think he’s very well-rounded. I think he is a big threat on the feet with the hands, and all he’s got a fast shot. I’ve studied that very well and his grappling tendencies. I look forward to him testing that against me. I want him to feel what I can do when it comes to grappling.”

Joe Pyfer finally cracked the middleweight Top 15 and now has a chance to break into the Top 10 — and possibly even the Top 5 — depending on his performance against Adesanya. The two-time “Contender Series” standout is 6-1 under the UFC banner with five knockouts and coming into UFC Seattle on the strength of a three-fight win streak. If there’s a knock against “BodyBagz” it’s the fact that his competition has been mediocre, at best, and his one loss inside the Octagon came against Swedish veteran Jack Hermansson. So yes, the same guy who got outstruck by “The Joker” must now throw hands with one of the greatest middleweight strikers in the history of MMA — across five rounds of action. “They try to find holes where there are none,” Pyfer said during the UFC Seattle media day. “Like, the guy’s fighting the best in the world, and at this level, the smallest margin for error is, like, split seconds, and then you get caught. So, yeah, I don’t look into it that much, and, yeah, I’m expecting the best of Izzy. I know everybody’s trying to be like, ‘He’s on a three-fight losing streak. He’s lost four out of his last five.’ He is one of the best in the world, and he’s losing to the absolute best in the world. It’s not like he lost to some Joe Blow who just got in the UFC, you know what I mean? He’s losing to guys that are all at the top of the food chain, so give the guy some grace. I still think he’s one of the best in the world. I think he’s going to show up amazing, and I’m going to show up amazing, and we’re going to have a hell of a fight.”

The two best things Adesanya had going for him were speed and durability and based on what we’ve seen over the last few years, those game-changing attributes have started to diminish. The question is, how much? Coaches will tell you that fighters are the first ones to know they’re washed and the last ones to admit it; but again, until we see Adesanya lose to someone outside the Top 5 — like Pyfer — we can’t rule out a run of bad luck. “BodyBagz” has the power to end this early and also the grappling. What he doesn’t seem to have is a Plan B when his opponent won’t go down, which is why Pyfer seemed so lost against Kelvin Gastelum in last year’s showdown. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Adesanya struggle early, then settle down and let his experience take over to pull away in the second half of the fight.