5 opponents Israel Adesanya has to beat to become the middleweight GOAT
Israel Adesanya recently extended his reign of dominance in the UFC's middleweight division by defeating former champion Robert Whittaker for a second time at UFC 271.
'The Last Stylebender' is undefeated at middleweight. With that in mind, fans are beginning to wonder what more he needs to do in order to claim the moniker of the greatest 185-pound fighter of all time.
Anderson Silva is undeniably the current unofficial UFC middleweight GOAT, but it is hard to deny that Israel Adesanya is hot on his heels.
With that said, in the following list, we break down five opponents that 'The Last Stylebender' will need to overcome in order to surpass the greatness of 'The Spider'.
#5. Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Whilst this pick may come as a surprise to some fans of the sport, Nassourdine Imavov could well be primed for a future of greatness in the UFC's middleweight division.
Training out of Fernand Lopez's MMA Factory in Paris, France, Imavov has regular access to high-level training partners, including top heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane.
Imavov is currently 3-1 in the UFC, with his sole loss coming in a bout with Phil Hawes, in what was deemed a very controversial decision. He holds impressive stoppage wins over the likes of Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan. He is now set to take on Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 273.
Imavov is clearly a fighter on the rise. Should he overcome Kelvin Gastelum, it is very likely that fans will soon start discussing a potential title bout. To be the greatest, a champion has to consistently repel rising contenders.
At the rate that Imavov has been progressing, a fight with 'The Last Stylebender' is inevitable.
