"Give him a yin to his yang" - Chael Sonnen slams UFC middleweight division for not stepping up enough to challenge Israel Adesanya

Chael Sonnen [left], Israel Adesanya [right]

Chael Sonnen is urging UFC middleweights to present a special case to become Israel Adesanya's next opponent.

Israel Adesanya successfully defended his title against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271. It was a close fight that ended in a unanimous decision victory for 'The Last Stylebender'. Many believe that Whittaker did not come up with anything new in their rematch and showed a lack of hunger to steal the crown.

A tactical bout that saw Israel Adesanya defeat his rival, Robert Whittaker to retain the middleweight title 🥊

Everything you need to know 👇 #UFC271

The win saw Adesanya extend his title defenses to four. This has got Chael Sonnen calling out other middleweight contenders to step up their game. According to 'The Bad Guy', the UFC and top middleweight contenders should work hand in hand to bring something new to the table. Otherwise, he feels, they will be looking at another Anderson Silva-type of reign.

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said:

"You want [Adesanya] to give you an opportunity? Give him something nobody else has. Give him a rival, give him a yin to his yang, give him an opponent. And the first thing you have to do to be Adesanya’s opponent, unless you want him to just end up like Anderson [Silva] ‘yeah he's the greatest, he's wonderful,’ nobody's questioning that - go out there and question it. Step one, change the narrative, create another one."

Watch the full video below:

Chael Sonnen said Israel Adesanya is the middleweight GOAT

To this day, Anderson Silva still has the most title defenses in the UFC middleweight division with 10. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya is some way behind with four. However, some are already convinced he has overtaken 'The Spider' as the divisional GOAT.

Sonnen had also previously weighed in on the subject. For the former UFC middleweight title contender, the GOAT debate was put to rest when 'The Last Stylebender' beat Silva in 2019. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel earlier this month, Sonnen said:

"It’s a valiant effort by Anderson, it was closer than any of us thought it would be, it was a great fight but that still answers the question.”

Watch the full video of Sonnen discussing the middleweight GOAT below: