The greatest Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight of all time, Anderson Silva, doesn’t see any serious threats on the horizon for current 185-pound king Israel Adesanya.
If there is any 185-pound fighter that understands what it takes to stay at the pinnacle of the UFC middleweight division it’s Anderson Silva. He reigned as the weight classes champion for seven years and defended the title an astounding 10 times.
He also knows how gifted the new warden of the division Israel Adesanya is since the pair squared off in the main event of UFC 234 in 2019. Adesanya (21-1) already has three dominant title defenses under his belt, and considering all the video and first-person intel the Brazilian legend has on “The Last Stylebender,” Silva does not see any fighter at middleweight dethroning the current champion.
Anderson Silva doesn’t see any real challenges coming for Israel Adesanya at 185
“Let me tell you something very important. Israel is a [great] champion, has a lot of experience in kickboxing and I don’t see anybody that can [beat] and challenge Israel in his weight class,” Silva told “>Submission Radio. “Probably in a different weight class but in 185, I don’t think so.”
“It’s a different game, but I think Israel is at the top of the game right now. Israel has proved, for anybody, why he’s the champion in this weight class. It’s very hard to stay in this weight class fighting [at a top] level. I know, because I’m there for 10 years, it’s tough.”
Since joining the UFC roster in February of 2018, the 32-year-old champion has lost just once in 11 fights. And that came in his failed attempt to add Jan Blachowicz’s light heavyweight title to his trophy case. It is Adesanya’s lone mixed martial arts defeat, and it was a closely contested unanimous decision defeat.
The native of New Zealand, by way of Nigeria, last competed in June at UFC 263. On that night, he successfully defended his middleweight title for a third time easily in a rematch with top contender Marvin Vettori.
Silva successfully switch sports last year and will compete in his second professional boxing bout on September 11 for Triller Fight Club. On the event headlined by a bout between former UFC foe Vitor Belfort and boxing legend Oscar Dela Hoya, the 46-year-old will face another UFC great in former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.
Do you agree with the middleweight legends assessment on Adesanya?
