Israel Adesanya is chasing the great status of the greatest of all time of Anderson Silva in the middleweight division.
The current two-time champion of the 185-pound UFC is seeking his sixth overall title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Saturday in Sydney, Australia. A win would only bring the New Zealander closer to toppling Silva as the division's all-time best, despite winning by unanimous decision over the legend. For some, "The Last Stylebender" has already done enough to claim that illustrious label.
However, former UFC champion Michael Bisping, a teammate of Adesanya and Silva, has not reached that point when it comes to the current champion. "The Count" also managed to defeat "The Spider" before everything was said and done inside the octagon. Silva's 16-fight unbeaten streak and 10 total title defenses accompanied by many unforgettable performances are too much for Bisping to overlook.
"Listen, we could sit here all day and pontificate and theorize who the best is and why and everything else. Right now, Anderson Silva is ahead on all the numbers: knockouts, victories, defenses, duration, everything else."
"Everything points to Anderson Silva, and I think so far he has the best style. It's amazing to watch 'The Last Stylebender', but the way Anderson Silva disposed of his opponents was legendary in his time."
Silva's historic reign came to an unexpected end against an undefeated rising challenger, Chris Weidman, in 2013 and was followed by a devastating leg fracture that resulted in consecutive defeats. The Brazilian closed out his UFC career at 1-7 (1 NC) in his last nine appearances, including those against Adesanya and Bisping, before being released from the promotion.
While the debate won't truly be settled until Adesanya's MMA career concludes, what is undeniable is that both are two of the greatest forwards the sport has ever seen.
"They are two great fighters from two different eras. They fought each other and, of course, Israel won, but as I said before, you cannot look too much into that fight. You can't really give it too much importance, and I know it sounds like an insult to Israel Adesanya."
"That's not what I'm doing. Both are incredible. Right now, the greatest middleweight of all time without a doubt is Anderson Silva, but Israel Adesanya is still only 34 years old. The man is still in his prime and fights every few months."