"Izzy's coming for his spot" - Conor McGregor should watch out for Israel Adesanya's rising star power as the top UFC draw, says Chael Sonnen

Conor McGregor is one of the biggest names in the world of combat sports and arguably the most popular MMA fighter in UFC history. Chael Sonnen, however, feels that Israel Adesanya is on his way to eclipsing McGregor's popularity down the line.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the former middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger claimed that 'The Last Stylebender' was the star of UFC 290, before adding:

"There's a different game being played here by Izzy. You want to know who should be watching this? It's not [Dricus] du Plessis and it's not the rest of the division. It's Conor McGregor. Izzy's coming for his spot. Izzy's coming for top draw in the sport and he's not that far away. By the way, he truly made that program for me... I'm a fight fan. I tuned in to watch the fights."

'The American Gangster' continued:

"What Adesanya did, that show's not the same. I was at a Bare Knuckle show about two months ago and Conor McGregor showed up and it was a massive deal from a perspective of entertainment. From having something to look forward to that you weren't promised, it wasn't on the marquee. The presence of Conor was greatly felt... Now I'm seeing that Izzy can play that same game and he can play it very powerfully."

Check out Chael Sonnen's full comments below:

Chael Sonnen believes Israel Adesanya is close to eclipsing Conor McGregor's star power 👀 #TheMMAHour

"Izzy is coming for his spot. Izzy’s coming for top draw in this sport and he’s not that far away.”

▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=DauC6c… https://t.co/hobolBXHWN

While McGregor has not fought in two years, his star power is impossible to deny. The former double champ has fought in the main event of the top seven highest-selling pay-per-views in UFC history. His inactivity, however, combined with his recent struggles in the octagon that have seen him win just one fight since 2016, has opened the door for Adesanya to match his star power eventually.

Conor McGregor believes Dricus du Plessis deserves to face Israel Adesanya

Dricus du Plessis picked up the most impressive win of his career as he defeated Robert Whittaker via second-round TKO at UFC 290. Following the bout, Israel Adesanya entered the octagon and exchanged words with the middleweight contender. Conor McGregor took to Twitter to congratulate 'Stillknocks', stating:

"Huge congrats to South African MMA and South Africa, period! That is an incredible win for them inside the UFC’s Octagon! Title fight next for sure! Let’s go S.A [South African flag] ❤️"

Check out Conor McGregor's tweet below:

Huge congrats to South African MMA and South Africa, period! That is an incredible win for them inside the UFC’s Octagon! Title fight next for sure!
Let’s go S.A 🇿🇦 ❤️

The nature of du Plessis' back-and-forth with Adesanya, combined with his impressive victory over Whittaker, will likely ensure that he is next to challenge Adesanya for the middleweight title. The bout will likely take place at UFC 293 in Australia.