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Chael Sonnen has drawn parallels between reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Israel Adesanya’s last fight witnessed him defeat Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision at UFC 276 on July 2. The Cannonier matchup didn’t feature the fireworks ‘Izzy’ had promised. Resultantly, Adesanya’s detractors have been lambasting him for supposedly being 'boring.'
In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen discussed this criticism being directed at ’The Last Stylebender.’ He indicated that during Silva’s reign, which lasted for about seven years, many similarly criticized the MMA legend for being a boring fighter.
Sonnen noted that Israel Adesanya boasts several impressive accolades, including a pair of wins over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Recalling Adesanya’s rematch with Whittaker, the former UFC title challenger noted that ‘Izzy’ was widely criticized after the closely-contested fight. Emphasizing that Adesanya won’t be criticized that harshly after his latest matchup against Cannonier, Sonnen stated:
“I don’t believe it will be near as bad as the way they blamed Adesanya when he beat [Robert] Whittaker the second time. You try beating Whittaker one time. You try beating Whittaker for one minute. He beat him for 25, and we criticized him. Okay.”
Furthermore, he insinuated that some of Silva’s past fights and Adesanya’s recent fights lacked action because their opponents were too scared to engage. Chael Sonnen said:
“The same thing happened to Anderson Silva when guys were too scared to engage. ‘Well, why aren’t you just knocking him out?’ I cannot. Why don’t I just knock you out? Because I can’t reach you, you dumb son of a b**ch! Step in here, and I will knock you out.”
Watch Sonnen address the topic at 5:43 of the video below:
Luke Rockhold on a potential fight against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is likely to defend his belt against longtime rival Alex Pereira next. Intriguingly, in the buildup to UFC 276, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold picked Adesanya to defeat Cannonier and every other middleweight too.
However, Rockhold warned that he has the right tactics to dethrone Adesanya. Rockhold will face Paulo Costa at UFC 278 on August 20. A win over Costa could catapult him into the title picture. Speaking to MMA Junkie, Rockhold lauded Adesanya and said:
"I think Izzy is a great champion. I think he has a good character... I like Izzy, I'm not gonna lie. I want to fight him for sure... I think I am the only one who can beat Izzy and play the right tactics, and I got that fight."
Watch Rockhold’s interview below:
