5 reasons why Israel Adesanya is currently the best striker in the UFC

Israel Adesanya is currently the best striker in the UFC. In fact, he is likely the best striker in all of MMA. While elite mixed martial artists such as Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson or Anderson Silva may have once laid claim to the title of MMA's best striker, age and a declining skill-set have contributed to their descent from the throne now occupied by the UFC's reigning middleweight champion. Israel Adesanya is elusive, possessing a deep arsenal of techniques unlike any ever seen from an MMA fighter. With it, he ghosts past his opponents' strikes, seemingly always in the right place at the right time to land devastating counters.

He is comfortable at every range, undoing myths that suggest his long arms are liabilities at close range. From the outside, he is difficult to close the distance against, but from the inside he is a punishing counter-puncher who has demolished the likes of former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and the once undefeated Brazilian bruiser Paulo Costa. While there are various reasons asserting Israel Adesanya as the UFC's best striker, this list explores the five most prominent ones.

#5. Israel Adesanya's footwork

While MMA fighters excel at many things, very few mixed martial artists are good ring/cage generals, and even fewer are good ring/cage cutters. The former entails using lateral and linear movement along with pivots and overall footwork to evade an opponent who is determined to come forward. The latter entails moving laterally with an evasive opponent, stepping with them to cut off their angles and prevent them from circling out into open space without rushing forward in a straight line.

The movement ✅
The striking ✅
The confidence ✅

Israel Adesanya doesn't like the Anderson Silva comparisons...

But the similarities in style are impossible to ignore 😮
#UFC234 https://t.co/GfUZW51YVV

The relative shortage of such skill-sets in MMA has led to many instances where good ring/cage generals outmaneuver everyone without the means to make doing so difficult, while good ring/cage cutters easily close down foes without the ability to evade them. Israel Adesanya, however, is not only a great ring/cage general, he has faced an excellent ring/cage cutter in Paulo Costa, outmaneuvering him to such an extent that Costa could not impose his primary pressure game. While Adesanya stands with a wide stance, he immediately flattens out his stance when his back is relatively close to the fence.

He shuffles from side to side, moving to the left, then to the right to misdirect his opponent into committing to one angle so that he can then circle out of the open angle. This made it even more impressive because Adesanya did so against a good cage cutter like Costa, misdirecting him every time he was pushed to the fence. His footwork was matched only by Stephen Thompson when the latter was in his physical prime.