Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya explained why he won’t retire from MMA despite his four-fight losing streak.

The 36-year-old Adesanya has lost four straight fights and five of his last six bouts overall. He has been getting finished, too, getting knocked out by Joe Pyfer and Nassourdine Imavov in his last two bouts, plus losing by submission to Dricus du Plessis before that and dropping a lopsided decision to Sean Strickland during his current four-fight losing skid.

It’s been a really tough run for Adesanya, and one that few ever saw coming, given how dominant he was to start his UFC career, where he went 12-1 through his first 13 fights in the promotion.

But now, it seems like Adesanya just can’t win a fight anymore. Still, he won’t walk away from MMA even despite how bad the recent losses have been.

Israel Adesanya Won’t Retire From MMA

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Adesanya explained why he won’t retire from MMA.

“Even if we take a hit, like I said, four in a row for me, no matter what, the equity might be down, but we’re still up than most people who even came into this game. That’s something I don’t want to rest on. Because I’m not going to be like, ‘Well, I’ve done what I had to do. I can lose now,'” Adesanya said (via MMAjunkie.com).

“Nah, (expletive) that. Also, my ego is very tied into this. I know what I can do still. For me, I don’t want this to be the writing of my story because I feel like, yes, I took part in this, but this is not how I want to conclude this chapter of my life. So, that’s why I’m adamant that the grass is green on this side, and I can tend to it and garden it properly, and let it be lush and bloom properly.”

Who Should Israel Adesanya Fight Next?

Adesanya isn’t hanging up his gloves anytime soon, so it will be interesting to see who he gets matched up with for his next fight.

Despite the four straight losses, he is still ranked No. 8 in the Meta UFC rankings, so he is still a top-10 fighter.

With four losses in a row, Adesanya can’t reasonably expect to fight anyone ranked ahead of him, but he will probably get someone in the top 15 for his next bout.

Right behind Adesanya at No. 9 is Gregory Rodrigues, who would make for a very intriguing opponent for Adesanya since they are two strikers who have never fought before. No. 11-ranked Christian Leroy Duncan is also interesting, should he beat No. 10-ranked Jared Cannonier next month at UFC Oklahoma City.

No. 12-ranked Bo Nickal is another intriguing opponent for Adesanya, and that’s the kind of fight the UFC tends to book, as Nickal is someone they want to build up, while Adesanya is an aging fighter who the UFC matchmakers might feel Nickal can make a name off.

We’ll see who the UFC gives Adesanya next, but one thing is clear: he’s not retiring anytime soon.