Israel Adesanya Is Close To Break Anderson Silva’s Record

The number is 13. That is how many times Israel Adesanya has knocked down an opponent in the UFC middleweight division across eight years and twenty-four professional appearances. It is also the exact same number that Anderson Silva — widely considered the greatest middleweight in the history of the sport — accumulated across a decade-long run that defined an era and set a standard most analysts believed would never be matched, let alone surpassed.

On Saturday night at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Adesanya steps into the Octagon against Joe Pyfer in his 15th UFC main event — a milestone that itself places him among the most elite names in the sport’s history. One knockdown of Pyfer during that fight, and Adesanya claims the middleweight knockdown record outright. For a fighter entering this bout on the back of a three-fight losing streak, looking to prove he still has something left to give, it is the kind of milestone that adds a layer of historical significance to what is already one of the year’s most anticipated Fight Night main events.

The Record Itself: Why It Matters

In isolation, a knockdown statistic might appear to be a minor footnote in the broader narrative of a career. In the context of the UFC middleweight division’s history, it is anything but. Anderson Silva’s 13 knockdowns were accumulated across a run that saw him dominate the 185-pound weight class with an authority that no champion in any division has truly replicated since. Those knockdowns came in fights against Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin, and other elite competitors — performances that not only won fights but defined what elite middleweight combat looked like for an entire generation of fans.

For Adesanya to tie that figure across eight years of his own UFC career is a statistical testament to how sustained his own dominance has been at the weight class. His 13 knockdowns did not arrive uniformly distributed across his career — more than half came in two fights alone, against Kelvin Gastelum in their legendary interim title fight at UFC 236 and against Derek Brunson in a first-round finish early in his career. But the aggregate places him level with Silva, and one more puts him above in a category that no other active middleweight is anywhere near threatening.

Adesanya vs Silva: A Statistical Comparison

The Other Record In Reach: Most UFC Main Events

The knockdown record is not the only historical milestone within reach for Adesanya at UFC Seattle. His appearance on Saturday marks his 15th UFC main event — a figure that places him in extraordinarily exclusive company. Only four fighters in the UFC’s entire history have reached that number before him: Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. Each of those names is either already in the UFC Hall of Fame or widely considered a future inductee. Adesanya’s induction into the Fight Wing of the Hall of Fame was confirmed earlier this year for his Gastelum fight at UFC 236 — his 15th main event adds another chapter to a legacy that, regardless of current results, is already among the most decorated in middleweight history.

There is also a secondary record in play around the average fight time at middleweight. Adesanya currently sits 42 seconds behind Sean Strickland for the longest average fight time in the division’s UFC history. Depending on how long Saturday’s fight lasts, he may find himself overtaking that mark as well — an irony given his reputation as one of the division’s most exciting finishers.

The Three-Fight Losing Streak: Context and Consequences

It is impossible to discuss Saturday night without addressing the context that surrounds it. Adesanya enters UFC Seattle on the back of three consecutive losses — the first losing streak of his UFC career. The defeats have not come against journeymen or mid-level opponents. His title fight loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 in August 2024 came via submission in the fourth round, making it the first time he had been stopped in the cage at middleweight. The loss to Nassourdine Imavov in February 2025 was more troubling — a clean overhand right dropped him 30 seconds into the second round, and he offered little defensive response before the stoppage.

That back-to-back stoppage sequence, occurring for the first time in his career, changed the conversation around Adesanya in a way that results alone had not previously managed. The question being asked in Seattle is not simply whether he can beat Joe Pyfer — it is whether the version of Adesanya that dismantled Paulo Costa, knocked out Alex Pereira, and dominated Robert Whittaker twice is still present in any meaningful form. At 36 years old, entering his fourth decade of life and his ninth year of UFC competition, the answer to that question carries a weight that extends well beyond Saturday’s scorecard.

Who Is Joe Pyfer and Why He Is Dangerous

Pyfer enters UFC Seattle from the opposite direction — a rising 29-year-old riding four consecutive wins, three of which came via stoppage. He earned his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and has gone 6-1 in the promotion, with his only loss coming against Jack Hermansson in his first main event assignment, a fight where he faded after a strong start in the later rounds. Since that loss, he has sharpened his game considerably — a knockout of Marc-André Barriault, a decision over Kelvin Gastelum with two knockdowns, and a submission of Abus Magomedov have all demonstrated increasing levels of tactical maturity alongside the raw finishing power that was always his most obvious attribute.

Pyfer’s knockdown rate — 1.2 per 15 minutes, fourth highest among active middleweights — means the statistical irony of this matchup is not lost on anyone paying attention. The fighter Adesanya needs to knockdown to break Anderson Silva’s record is himself one of the division’s most dangerous knockdown artists. It makes for a genuinely compelling tactical puzzle on top of the historical narrative already surrounding the bout.

What a Win Would Mean

For Adesanya, a victory over Pyfer at UFC Seattle does several things simultaneously. It ends the three-fight losing streak that has generated the most significant questions of his career. It delivers the record-breaking knockdown in the most historically resonant setting imaginable. And it keeps his name in the title conversation for a middleweight division that is currently occupied by the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev — a fighter Adesanya has never faced and whose style represents a genuinely distinct challenge from everything he has encountered in his UFC tenure.

Adesanya has described this phase of his career as one of liberation rather than pressure — fighting with freedom rather than obligation, letting go of the belt-or-nothing mentality that he believes narrowed his approach in the later stages of his championship runs. Whether that mental shift translates into the kind of vintage performance that would silence the questions about his decline remains to be seen. UFC Seattle on March 28 is where the answer begins to form.