Did Joaquin Buckley give Nassourdine Imavov the blueprint to defeating former two-time middleweight champ Israel Adesanya? He claimed that he did. But why did he take such a huge blame on himself? For the uninitiated, Adesanya was poked in the eye early on in Round 2 during the UFC Saudi Arabia main event as Imavov reached out his hand to defend an incoming jab.

Was this idea from Buckley’s inference? Who knows. But we do know that ‘New Mansa’ might have taken the blame as he discussed Adesanya’s fighting stance with Joe Rogan in JRE MMA Show#132. On top of admitting that, he even gave an open challenge to the Frenchman for a fight! He recently posted the same on X and even uploaded the clip where he was explaining the gaps in Izzy’s fight stance.

Buckley said, “Once I gave my take on how to beat Izzy on JRE I feel like Buddy’s career has never been the same. Congrats to Nassourdine maybe we run it back in the future.” Below the caption, the surging contender said in the segment, “Izzy can be finished in certain positions that he put himself in. Because there’s a lot of things that you do because of his reach. He leans back a lot to try to counter away from punches, right? But if you can find that angle and you can see the holes open and everything because the body is there, his chin is available you know you can find that punch.”

Imavov might have seen this episode—or maybe not—but we clearly saw how both fighters performed. Even though Izzy was in control during Round 1, Imavov bounced back quickly, showcasing his resilience and ability to adapt. Now that Adesanya has lost another fight, the question on everyone’s mind is: what does the future hold for him?

Israel Adesanya spills the beans on his future inside the Octagon

As the only two-time middleweight champion in UFC history, with 12 consecutive title fights, the second-longest winning streak in the division, and a long list of accolades, there’s no denying that Israel Adesanya has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest to ever do it. At 35 years old, however, Izzy is now facing a bit of uncertainty after his loss to Nassourdine Imavov.

Reflecting on the defeat, Adesanya told ESPN after the fight, “I’ll have to chill and then think about things. I’ll relax first for a little bit, just help the teammates who have fights coming up, and then see what I want to do. I was going to do that anyway but now I’m forced to – shout-out to Nassourdine for that.”

Later, Adesanya shared a video on Instagram, watching the brutal knockout, captioning it, “As real as it gets – UFC. Rolled the dice… snake eyes. I’ll be back, gone to get some milk.” This marked his third consecutive loss, a streak that’s certainly concerning given his previous dominance. It’s gonna be debated for a long time if Izzy lost owing to the aforementioned eye poke or not.

Some, including his coach Mike Angove, believed the eye poke didn’t significantly affect Izzy’s vision. He explained, “It does put you off momentarily, but he could see enough when it came to reset.” The fact remains that Adesanya’s loss has added some weight to the question of what comes next. Despite the setback, Izzy remains calm and collected, and a much-needed rest could be just what he needs. So, the real question is: who will he face next in the Octagon? Share your thoughts in the comments below.