Israel Adesanya is no stranger to comparisons to Anderson Silva. The pair share long, lean frames, a weight division, and a skillset far beyond that of most of their competitors.
Adesanya even came face-to-face with “The Spider” in the Octagon once upon a time, a veritable passing of the torch. On The MMA Hour, however, “The Last Stylebender” detailed a way in which he is similar to a man many call the MMA GOAT, and it’s not what you’d expect.
Adesanya Compares Himself to Anderson Silva with Championship “Issue”
“I’m starting to fall into this — not a trap, this issue. Like, I realize that Silva had as well. UFC 97, he fought Thales Leites and he beat him up, pieced him up, but people were like, ‘Oh, it was a boring fight.’ I’m like, no, it wasn’t. Yeah, Thales didn’t really do much later on, because he was too scared to engage.”
For many fans, the definition of a “boring fight” as opposed to an exciting one differs greatly from the perspective of competitors.
Closely matched fights rarely include the highlight-reel knockout finishes or gruesome submissions that appeal to the casual fan, and at the top level of the game, close fights in which competitors feint more than they engage are increasingly common. Israel Adesanya explained this, using UFC 271 as an example.
“Later on [at UFC 271], we thought Rob was going to press the action, because you’re down, his corner’s saying he’s down, but he was just moving away.
There was one point he was drifting and trying to set me up for a trap, and I was like, ‘That’s my move,’ and I went back to the center. And then he then came to the center and then we kept on fighting.
But yeah, I’m starting to fall into that trap. Same thing with UFC 112, Abu Dhabi, Demian Maia, and people were just like, ‘Oh, [Silva is] this, he’s that,’ and they forget, they completely forget, and it’s just recency bias.
But I had fun. That’s one thing I’m glad [about]. I had fun, I was present from the first round to the last bell. My last fight before that [against Marvin Vettori], I wasn’t.
I got bored, because I was just like, ‘This guy’s not a threat to me. He doesn’t pose any threat. But this fight, I could not afford to get bored. I could not afford to have that, because Rob will crack you.”
Do you think the UFC 271 headliner was “boring”? Let us know in the comments.
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