Israel Adesanya on UFC 305: ‘I’m Back’

A victory on Saturday will make Adesanya a three-time middleweight champion. That means he would have regained the title twice, building off a feat the great Anderson Silva–who remains the benchmark for all UFC middleweights–never accomplished.

If Adesanya (24-3) defeats du Plessis, then the argument that he has surpassed Silva as the middleweight GOAT will gain more credence.

“It’s all subjective,” said Adesanya, discussing whether he minds when people say Silva is the greatest middleweight in UFC history. “I have an art piece on my wall. It’s Anderson and myself, and I hold it dearly.

“This is mixed martial arts–arts are subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Someone might think a guy like Tyson Griffin was the greatest of all time, and that’s cool. Or you might think Stipe [Miocic] is the greatest of all time, and that’s cool, too. So I don’t think someone saying Anderson is great takes away from me.

“After my last fight, Anderson posted something and deleted it. I didn’t see it, but I guess he posted something taking a shot at me. It’s like, come on, man. Him being great never takes away from my greatness. I looked up to him when I was coming up. I know who I am, and I’m in my own lane. My greatness is never going to take away from what he’s done. Even though I beat him, I don’t think that’s a loss for him. I think that was a beautiful, special moment between me and him, and that’s why the artwork is framed up on my wall.”

The Silva-Adesanya debate is one that adds excitement to the sport, and it will undoubtedly be a hot topic if Adesanya regains the belt. But that is not the priority, as Adesanya is faced with an extremely talented opponent in Perth as he matches up against du Plessis (21-2).

“My focus is beating this opponent and winning this fight,” said Adesanya, who seeks to break du Plessis’ nine-fight win streak. “I’ve said ‘F--- the belt,’ but people don’t understand what I mean by that. I’ve heard people say I’m already making excuses. No, those people have never done what I’ve done. I’ve won the belt back. I know how this goes. If I beat this guy [on Saturday], then it’s, ‘Oh my god, he’s the greatest of all time,’ and then they’re all going to be on my d--- again. That’s cool. I’ll keep the same energy. I know this game. I’ve seen it, I’ve been up here, I’ve been down there. That’s the way it flows. I’ve done it multiple times in my career, not just in the UFC.

“This time, I want to play the game a little bit differently. I’ve been away for almost a year. I feel refreshed. I’m excited to carry on.”

A signature trademark of Adesanya’s run in the UFC has been fighting at a breakneck pace. Perhaps that caught up to him last September, when Sean Strickland outclassed him in their fight at UFC 293, winning by unanimous decision and taking the title.

“Even the Strickland fight, I’ve never actually said this, but Dana was like, ‘Man kid, you’ve made a lot of money and this and that, just take some time off,’ and I was really adamant, like, ‘No, I must fight him,’” said Adesanya. “It was all meant to happen the way it was meant to happen. If I took that fight and I won, I would have fought probably in December and I would have hurt myself leading up to the fight. It was meant to happen the way it did.

“Look bro, Strickland dropped me and couldn’t finish me because of my conditioning and cause of my fighting spirit. But my body wasn’t really firing. But he should have finished me. He couldn’t because I know how to survive. When I’m ready and I’m on, it’s a different beast. It’s not excuses–he f------ got me. It was just his night. But now I feel refreshed. I feel refreshed going back into this sh--. I want to clock into work again and really enjoy this.”

Adesanya can further cement himself as the greatest with a victory against du Plessis. Silva won his first 16 middleweight fights in the UFC, and this is Adesanya’s sixteenth UFC bout at middleweight–and a victory would make him a three-time champion.

“I’m f------ ready for this one,” said Adesanya. “I’m ready for this one.”