When fighters start racking up a winning streak, for the fans, they are the real deal. However, the story is totally the opposite when they rack up back-to-back losses, and that’s exactly what has happened with Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ had been the most dominant UFC middleweight champion in the modern era until he suffered an upset loss at UFC 293 as he went into that fight against Sean Strickland as the favorite.

But in the wake of three consecutive defeats, some fans are starting to believe that maybe his UFC 293 wasn’t an upset after all. His recent first-round knockout loss over Nassourdine Imavov acted as even more fuel for the UFC community to believe that he may be washed up. However, Israel Adesanya has vehemently denied those claims and issued a response to his doubters in a pretty unique way.

While shutting down the people who are pointing fingers at his recent lackluster outings, Israel Adesanya said on his YouTube channel, “They call me ‘washed’. But how are you going to call me ‘washed’ when you haven’t even been in laundry? Like, you haven’t even gone dirty. What have you done?”

Well, the fans’ belief about Israel Adesanya not having the prowess he had anymore started back when he suffered the first of his recent three losses. But he remained unfazed and undeterred as he looked forward to finding his footing inside the Octagon again.

While winning is another thing, becoming a champion is a whole other ball game. But guess what? Israel Adesanya has stopped worrying about getting a title shot after his recent run of performances. Here’s what the former champion had to say.

Israel Adesanya doesn’t expect to become champion again

After losing the title for a second time, Israel Adesanya was sure that a few good performances would help him land in a title fight again, and as such, he didn’t bother asking Dana White for it. But as we’ve mentioned already, his three back-to-back losses have made it hard for the matchmaking team to put him in that spot, and it’s fair play because new contenders are emerging on the scene. Moreover, ‘Izzy’, who hoped to get a title shot after his loss to Dricus du Plessis, isn’t looking to become a champion anymore because he doesn’t expect it this time, given his position.

“Do I have a title shot in mind for the future? No. I’ll say this, when I got to the UFC, I never chased the belt. I expected it… After the DDP fight, I remember thinking, ‘Oh well. Cool, It’ll come around, I don’t have to chase it, because I expect it. I just know. It will.’ But after this fight [with Imavov] I’m just like, ‘You know what? I’m not expecting anything. I’m not expecting to be the champion again,” Israel Adesanya added.

Despite the setbacks in his professional career, Israel Adesanya is still keeping his chin up with a positive attitude. Many fighters have made great comebacks and it’s hard to imagine, at this point, that ‘Izzy’ wouldn’t be able to do the same. Regardless, we will have to wait and see how long it takes for Adesanya to get back to his winning ways or if he adds another setback to his record. Let us know what you think in the comments down below.