"He made good guys look bad" - Rich Franklin picks between Israel Adesanya and Anderson Silva for his middleweight G.O.A.T.

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From left to right: Israel Adesanya, Rich Franklin, Anderson Silva [Image credit: UFC.com and @richacefranklin on Instagram]

During an interview with The Schmo, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin named Anderson Silva above Israel Adesanya as the greatest of all-time at 185 pounds.

'The Spider' is widely regarded as the best to ever compete at middleweight, and some even consider him superior to every other MMA star — past or present. In his prime, the 47-year-old went on a six-year unbeaten run, capturing UFC gold and defending it ten times during this period.

While discussing his opinion about the middleweight G.O.A.T., Rich Franklin distinguished Anderson Silva's dominance from any other, insisting nobody has done it like him.

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"He's gonna be tough to dethrone, you know. I go back to an Anderson Silva fight — Anderson didn't just win matches, he made good guys look bad, myself included... You look at a match like what he did with Forrest [Griffin] and how he was just able to outmaneuver him. I've yet to see that kind of level in the middleweight class with somebody else at this point in time... I don't know [if we'll ever see somebody surpass him], but I'd like for him to remain the greatest."

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The Brazilian has beaten some of the toughest competition the sport has seen, with wins over Demian Maia, Dan Henderson, and Vitor Belfort. His reign of dominance came to an end in 2013 after being knocked out by Chris Weidman.

In the next seven years, Silva managed to pick up one singular victory by scoring a controversial decision over Derek Brunson. Since leaving the sport of MMA behind, the legend has found success in boxing and continues to show his poise despite his age.

Check out what Rich Franklin had to say regarding the greatest middleweight of all-time conversations in the video below:

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Will Israel Adesanya ever reach middleweight G.O.A.T. status?

The most dominant middleweight since the retirement of Anderson Silva has clearly been Israel Adesanya, but could 'The Stylebender' ever reach his idol's level inside the octagon?

Despite being unphased by the majority of opponents, the former kickboxer must start to entertain fans and find finishes if he ever wants to be among the best UFC athletes of all-time.

It seemed like Israel Adesanya was on the fast-track to becoming one of the most electrifying talents in the sport, but it seems his free-flowing, offensive style is quickly becoming a much more reserved 'point-scoring' style.

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