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Israel Adesanya was one of the last mixed martial artists to face former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The reigning UFC middleweight champion shared his reaction to Silva's boxing match against Jake Paul.
During the latest episode of his YouTube show, FREESTYLEBENDER, the No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter stated:
"I love this game. To me though, even when I watch [Floyd] Mayweather on Instagram, seeing him hit the pads or hit the bag - the same thing with Silva, I'll always enjoy watching him move. I'll always enjoy even just that. I've always enjoyed when he starts to move. I feel nostalgic right now."
Adesanya added:
"This is what Anderson does, he hasn't attacked yet. He's just reading. Classic Silva... Now he's starting to move. This is classic, bro. I love this guy... You gotta appreciate a master at work, man."
Israel Adesanya has previously shared that Anderson Silva is the reason he began training in martial arts. It is clear that his enjoyment of watching Silva fight hasn't changed. Silva would, however, lose the eight-round boxing match to Jake Paul via unanimous decision.
Watch Israel Adesanya react to watching Anderson Silva take on Jake Paul below (starting at the 4:00 mark):
Israel Adesanya discusses his training camp ahead of UFC 281
Israel Adesanya will look to defend his UFC middleweight title against his former kickboxing rival, Alex Pereira, at UFC 281. The middleweight champion recently detailed how the training camp is going ahead of his sixth title defense.
Speaking to Combat TV, Adesanya stated:
"This camp isn't just a step up, it's more like three steps up. Dan [Hooker] put it in the way like Eugene [Bareman] shook a snow globe. The last three weeks have been work... so I know what's gonna happen. I know what we have to do, us four that is, to get the job done because we're fit. I can tell you that much - we're fit. We're already great fighters but we're really fit right now."
It should come as no surprise that Adesanya is putting in extra work ahead of his matchup with Pereira. Not only did the No.4-ranked middleweight defeat him in both of their kickboxing matches, he remains the only fighter to knock Adesanya out.
Adesanya will enter UFC 281 looking to avenge his kickboxing losses, while Pereira will look to become the first middleweight to defeat Adesanya in mixed martial arts. A victory would move the reigning champion into a tie with Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in the middleweight division of the UFC.
Watch Israel Adesanya discuss changes in his training camp ahead of UFC 281 below (starting at the 0:40 mark):
