UFC 281: 3 reasons why Israel Adesanya is an all-time great of the UFC - and 2 reasons why he's not
This weekend at UFC 281, Israel Adesanya will attempt to defend his middleweight title for the sixth successive time when he faces old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira – but is ‘The Last Stylebender’ an all-time great?
Whether Israel Adesanya is an all-time great of the UFC, or whether he needs to prove a lot more before he gets there, is definitely a question that is up for debate.
The champ is prepared to do whatever it takes to leave with the belt 👑
[ @Stylebender | #UFC281 | Saturday | Live on ESPN+ PPV: ufc.ac/3BIPnuM ] https://t.co/4jMIhXLrmi
‘The Last Stylebender’ is definitely one of the most successful fighters of his generation, but when it comes to being considered a legend like former middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva, whether he’s proven enough is debatable.
Here are three reasons why Israel Adesanya is one of the UFC’s all-time greats – and two reasons why he isn’t there yet.
#3. Israel Adesanya has 12 wins in a row at middleweight – and is aiming for 13
Naturally, it’s going to be hard for anyone to match the winning streak of Anderson Silva in the UFC. ‘The Spider’ put together a ridiculous 16 wins in a row in the octagon over the course of nearly seven years.
However, it might’ve slipped the mind of some fans that if Israel Adesanya can overcome the challenge of Alex Pereira this weekend, then he’ll have won 13 victories in a row at middleweight. That will mean that he’d have the same number of wins in a row that Silva produced at 185lbs.
AND … STILL THE UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMP 🏆
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya defeats Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision #UFC276 https://t.co/ghRBAlC1DU
Of course, ‘The Spider’ was able to step up to 205lbs and win three fights there, extending his overall run to 16 wins without defeat. Nonetheless, the fact that Adesanya has arguably dominated his own division just as much as Silva did should stand as evidence of his greatness.
When you consider, for instance, that Kamaru Usman was being pegged as an all-time great after winning 15 fights in a row at welterweight, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that ‘The Last Stylebender’ deserves exactly the same plaudits.
#2. Israel Adesanya has whitewashed all of his opponents at middleweight
Israel Adesanya’s 12-fight winning streak at 185lbs is obviously impressive in itself, but if he’d been winning his fights by narrow margins then it might be harder to argue for his place as an all-time great.
Thankfully for ‘The Last Stylebender’, that hasn’t been the case. With a couple of notable exceptions, Adesanya has simply whitewashed his foes at 185lbs, making even high-level fighters like Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Paulo Costa look like they didn’t even belong in the same octagon as him.
#UFC253WHAT A STATEMENT 🙌
Israel Adesanya ends the rivalry with Paulo Costa inside two rounds with a dominant display!
It was THAT easy 😳 #UFC253 https://t.co/jxdchos1zf
Sure, his doubters could argue that he his lack of finishes should be held against him, but in reality, that’s nonsense. It isn’t easy to stop any opponent at the very highest level and other greats like Georges St-Pierre suffered the same baseless criticism.
Essentially, at 185lbs, Adesanya has only ever been properly tested on two occasions; once by Kelvin Gastelum and once by Yoel Romero.
Gastelum actually had ‘The Last Stylebender’ hurt on multiple occasions and was arguably ahead on the scorecards going into the final round. However, Adesanya attacked him with such ferocity in that stanza that there was no doubt as to who the winner was. It was a true champion’s performance.
Romero, meanwhile, tested his resolve by lulling their fight into such a slow pace that every strike apparently counted. Even then, Adesanya did just enough to win.
Overall, the fact that so few of his opponents have been able to test him should stand as a testament to the greatness of ‘The Last Stylebender’.
#1. Israel Adesanya has become the first big middleweight star since Anderson Silva
While many fans see MMA in a purely sporting sense, the fact is that in the world of the UFC in particular, MMA is just as much about entertaining the fans as it is about winning fights in the octagon.
In that sense, star power can count hugely when it comes to a fighter’s overall greatness. Conor McGregor, for instance, has similar achievements to Henry Cejudo in the octagon, but will probably be considered above him in the overall pantheon of greatness due to the star power he wields.
In that sense, then Israel Adesanya, who has become the middleweight division’s first real star since the downfall of Anderson Silva in 2013, simply must be considered up there with the true greats.
Not only have his achievements in the octagon now outstripped other former titleholders like Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold and Robert Whittaker, but he’s also proven to be a bigger star than any of them. He is now widely considered as not only one of the UFC’s poster-boys, but one of their bigger drawing cards, too.
ES.PN/UFC276TWADESANYA CHANNELING THE UNDERTAKER 😱
STREAM #UFC276 NOW ON @ESPNPLUS ▶️ ES.PN/UFC276TW https://t.co/u5JabMxZuY
If ‘The Last Stylebender’ can defeat Alex Pereira this weekend, his overall legend will only continue to grow. Even if he falls in his next title defense, it’ll be hard to deny that he’s the promotion’s second-greatest middleweight behind Silva – and a legitimate all-time great in his own right.
With those points considered, here are two reasons why Israel Adesanya has more work to do to be considered an all-time great of the octagon.
#2. Israel Adesanya hasn’t faced as many great opponents as other all-time greats
To be an all-time great, a UFC fighter obviously needs a lengthy list of victories over the toughest-possible opponents.
Georges St-Pierre, for instance, defeated a who’s who of other welterweight greats such as Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn, Jon Fitch and Carlos Condit. Amanda Nunes, meanwhile, holds victories over no fewer than seven current or former UFC champions.
So does Israel Adesanya have the kind of victories that a fighter needs to be considered an all-time great? It’s a bit of a question mark.
His best wins are undoubtedly his two over Robert Whittaker, as ‘The Reaper’ has only ever lost to Adesanya at 185lbs and probably would’ve dominated the division were it not for ‘The Last Stylebender’.
Outside of that, though, he beat Anderson Silva and Yoel Romero while both men were past their primes. While he did well to take out Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier, all three men have some question marks hanging over them in terms of how good they really are.
Israel Adesanya does the double on Marvin Vettori! 🏆
50-45
50-45
50-45
@stylebender scores a unanimous decision victory at #UFC263 👏 https://t.co/cgw9VN9FaF
In the future, then, will Adesanya’s wins over those fighters be considered as good as say, Anderson Silva’s victories over Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and Rich Franklin – or will they feel more like Silva’s against overmatched foes like Patrick Cote and Thales Leites?
Right now, they feel like the latter. So Adesanya will probably need to pick up more victories over higher-level foes like Whittaker to be considered a legitimate great of the octagon.
#1. Israel Adesanya failed to become a two-division champion
One thing that should probably stand against Israel Adesanya when it comes to him being considered an all-time great – up there with the very best handful of fighters to ever compete in the UFC – is the fact that he failed to become a two-division champion.
‘The Last Stylebender’ attempted to win the light-heavyweight title in 2021 when he faced off with then-champion Jan Blachowicz. While he appeared to have a stylistic advantage on paper, he ended up falling to a clear-cut unanimous decision defeat.
#UFC259
Jan Blachowicz beats Israel Adesanya to remain the light heavyweight champ 🔥 #UFC259 https://t.co/JlJ2lSt55f
Okay, so it’s true that only four fighters in UFC history have been able to become simultaneous two-division champions – Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo. But while Anderson Silva never did it, he clearly could’ve had he taken a title shot at 205lbs, given the way he dispatched of former champion Forrest Griffin in their 2009 bout.
Should Adesanya’s failed attempt stand against him? After all, the loss to Blachowicz remains his only defeat in the octagon.
However, given Blachowicz’s status as a beatable champion rather than an all-time great in his own right – he lost his title in his next defense – it probably should. Essentially, ‘The Last Stylebender’ had a chance to carve his name out as a true legend, and he couldn’t quite pull it off.
Could he become an all-time great in the near future? With more wins, absolutely – but it’s arguable that he isn’t there just yet.