Israel Adesanya Calls Silva, Not Gastelum, His Toughest Opponent

Israel Adesanya calls fighting Anderson Silva, not Kelvin Gastelum his toughest opponent to date.

Adesanya and Gastelum are slated to share the Octagon for interim middleweight championship at the UFC 236 pay-per-view event. This comes after UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker continues to recover from surgery on the sidelines.

While doing a recent interview, the rising contender made it known that he doesn’t consider Gastelum his toughest challenge to date despite him being the top title contender in the division.

“No, it’s not the hardest fight of my MMA career so far,” Adesanya said in a recent interview with EMG Access.

The contender scored a decision win over former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the headliner of the UFC 234 pay-per-view event. This event took place on February 9, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

For Adesanya, fighting Silva, who many have compared him to due to their fighting styles, was his toughest opponent.

“I’d give that to the Silva fight,” Adesanya said (H/T to MMANews). “I think more mentally challenging. It was physically challenging as well, but more mentally challenging in the sense that I had to beat myself.”

The UFC 236 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.