Israel Adesanya touted as top-5 greatest fighter of all time following UFC 287 win: ‘He’s just spectacular’
Off the back of his stunning UFC 287 knockout victory over Alex Pereira to reclaim the undisputed middlweight title, Israel Adesanya must now be included in the greatest fighter of all time conversation – reaching the top-5 of that list already, according to veteran welterweight, Matt Brown.
Adesanya, now a two-time undisputed middleweight champion under the promotion’s banner, managed to reclaim his undisputed title over the weekend in the main event of UFC 287, avenging a November knockout loss to the above-mentioned, Pereira.
Securing his first victory over the Sao Paulo striker in four attempts in Miami, Florida – City Kickboxing stalwart, Israel Adesanya dropped and finished Pereira with a cannoning second round knockout at UFC 287, minting himself as the undisputed king of the middleweights in the process.
Matt Brown touts the résumé of new champion, Israel Adesanya
Receiving major plaudits for swinging the tide against Pereira, Adesanya has been boasted as a top-5 greatest fighter of all time by the above-mentioned, Brown – who labelled the Nigerian-Kiwi as “spectacular”.
“I felt like this fight [against Alex Pereira], he (Israel Adesanya) just threw that out the window and said, ‘I’m not wrestling you, we’re doing a kickboxing match. And I’m f*cking you up.’” Matt Brown told MMA Fighting reporter, Damon Martin. “I commend him for that. That took balls for him to do that. That took courage – that took bravery. That took all the things that qualify a champion like Adesanya and I think you’ve got to star putting him in the top five GOAT list now.”
“It’s not like I’m basing this off one fight,” Brown continued. “Look at the guys he’s beat before [UFC 287]. He’s got a f*cking résumé. He’s just spectacular. It’s f*cking amazing what he’s doing. I’ll just leave it at time.”
Expected to welcome new challenges amid links to fights with both Dricus du Plessis, and the undefeated welterweight, Khamzat Chimaev next – Adesanya has distanced himself firmly from a third mixed martial arts contest with Pereira in the immediate aftermath of UFC 287.
