UFC featherweight star Alexander Volkanovski has named Israel Adesanya among his top five greatest fighters of all time, declaring the Nigerian-New Zealander as the “greatest striker the UFC has ever seen”.
The Australian, who recently lost his title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, made these remarks during a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, where he ranked former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson as his overall GOAT, followed by Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Adesanya.
“I’m gonna throw my boy, Israel Adesanya, in there as well. A lot of championships, and when it comes to striking, I think he’s the greatest striker the UFC has ever seen”, Volkanovski said.
This endorsement comes as Adesanya prepares for his upcoming non-pay-per-view clash against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 in Saudi Arabia on 1 February, his first non-title bout since defeating Anderson Silva in February 2019.
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has backed the Nigerian to emerge victorious despite acknowledging Imavov’s formidable skills.
“I’d have to lean into Izzy being the favourite. He’s so good at what he does. But Imavov’s a bit of a dog—he can go the distance”, Whittaker told MMArcade.
The 35-year-old Adesanya will headline the UFC’s debut show in Saudi Arabia at the ANB Arena, Riyadh, as he looks to bounce back from consecutive losses to current champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 in August and Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.
Despite these setbacks, ‘The Last Stylebender’ remains one of the UFC’s biggest draws, boasting an impressive 24-4 record with 16 knockout victories to his name.
A victory over seventh-ranked Imavov could put Adesanya in contention for a number-one contender match against undefeated star Khamzat Chimaev, who recently impressed the Nigerian with his dominant victory over Whittaker.
“I was surprised by the way Khamzat ran through Rob, that was crazy. That made me want to fight him. I was like, ‘okay, this guy’s actually really, really good’”, Adesanya said on his YouTube channel.
Chimaev also expressed admiration for Adesanya’s abilities in an interview with Daniel Cormier, stating, “Izzy is a better fighter than Du Plessis, I think. Yeah, they fought (and Izzy lost) but, as a fighter, you have to ask, how much are you hungry? How much do you want it?”
