Israel Adesanya Almost Didn’t Accept Anderson Silva Fight

Israel Adesanya has garnered the attention of many in the UFC’s middleweight division.

At UFC 230 last month, Adesanya put on a spectacular performance under the bright lights inside Madison Square Garden. He picked apart Derek Brunson for a first-round knockout win. The victory extended the Nigerian’s perfect mixed martial arts (MMA) record to 15-0. With the win, he’s looking to get on the fast track to a 185-pound title opportunity.

And what better way to earn a title shot than beating the greatest middleweight champion of all time? Adesanya will step into the cage to face Anderson Silva at UFC 234 on pay-per-view (PPV) from Melbourne, Australia on February 9, 2019. He recently did an interview with the UFC to discuss being paired up against “The Spider.”

Adesanya has been compared to Silva several times, a man who he himself believes is the greatest of all time. Initially Adesanya didn’t want to have to fight Silva out of respect, but after some discussion with his team, he realized it had to happen (via MMA Mania):

“For me, I didn’t want to (fight him) at first. I was on record saying there is no need. But I had to do it, I had this dream. I talked to my coaches and said, ‘Yeah, this is how it it supposed to play out.’

“The guy is the GOAT. But I am Nigerian and I’ve been eating goat since I was a kid. This is normal to me,” Adesanya said.

Adesanya and Silva do share one common denominator. Their latest victories inside the cage both come over Brunson. Silva defeated Brunson back in February of 2017 via unanimous decision. It was Silva’s first win since October of 2012.

Now, he’ll look to put together his first win streak in nearly seven years, but he’ll have to do it by beating one of the hottest young stars in the division today.