Israel Adesanya isn’t better than Anderson Silva but he’s the closest to him in the middleweight division.
"The Last Stylebender" extended his undefeated streak as a professional middleweight to 22 with another surgical performance in his title defense against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271.
MORE: UFC 271 results: Israel Adesanya beats Robert Whittaker in close contest, retains middleweight title
The gap between Adesanya and the rest of the division is about as wide as a football field and the only person he’s chasing is the ghost of Anderson Silva when it comes to middleweight dominance.
Can anybody stop him from catching Silva?
The only person that can get in Adesanya’s way is Israel Adesanya.
In just four years, Adesanya is already second all-time in title fight wins among middleweights with six, which puts him five behind Silva. He also holds the second-longest winning streak in the 185-pound division with 11, two behind Silva’s 13.
Again, he’s done this in only four years as a UFC fighter.
By comparison, Silva debuted in the UFC on June 28, 2006 and ran up an undefeated record in the promotion until he was stopped by Chris Weidman in July 2013. Silva was widely recognized as one of the top two fighters in the world during this time. What we are witnessing is one of the greatest runs in a single weight class in the history of the UFC... or any MMA promotion.
The only hiccup in Adesanya’s MMA career was when he dared to be great but fell short in capturing the light heavyweight championship last March. Adesanya has made it clear after successfully defending his title that he’s still interested in becoming a two-division champion but is content with staying at 185 pounds and clearing out the division.
And with clearing out the division comes the potential of surpassing Silva’s middleweight record of victories in title fights. He’s targeting a summer fight with Jared Cannonier and, if successful, would put Adesanya at seven title fight wins. It looks like Sean Strickland is another potential opponent and it’s conceivable that Adesanya can get to eight wins in championship fights before 2022 is over.
By 2023, it’s certain that some new blood will emerge in the division for Adesanya. He’ll only be 33 and with his style being one of avoiding contact and making opponents pay for their mistakes, “The Last Stylebender” will prevent damage from piling up as he exits his prime years. Like Silva, Adesanya utilizes sharp reflexes, fluid motion and pinpoint accuracy to dissect his opponents. And if his rematch with Whittaker can be used as evidence, it’s highly unlikely that his opponents will throw caution to the wind in fear of getting clipped with a counter.
MORE: Why a third fight between Adesanya and Whittaker is inevitable
As it stands, there aren’t a lot of wrestlers who can ground Adesanya in the division. And without another high-level kickboxer standing in his way, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be relinquishing the championship anytime soon.
If there’s anything that can get in the way, it’s if Adesanya finds himself lacking the motivation to surpass Silva and he takes another shot at the light heavyweight division. Anderson Silva found success in the 205-pound division three times, but never fought for a title. Adesanya's appetite for success could lead him back to the division where new challenges await.
Some will say that it is premature to place Adesanya among the greatest UFC fighters of all time, but the numbers don’t lie. He’s on the cusp of greatness and when a fighter can be mentioned in the same breath as Silva, it shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt.
It can be argued that Silva’s reign in the middleweight division lacked the quality opposition that Adesanya has faced. After all, few will consider Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and Yushin Okami in the same league as Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa. Not only did Adesanya beat them, he did so when each was in the midst of an impressive winning streak.
Adesanya is a rare athlete who combines skill with charisma to become a massive star with the potential to be recognized among the greats. But he still has work to do in order to surpass Silva. And that's fine because there was a time we thought nobody would be able to catch "The Spider."
We finally found someone who can come close.
