Ahead of his sixth title defence at Sydneyโs UFC 293, this time against firebrand brawler Sean Strickland, two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has found time to praise his longtime friend, City Kickboxing Gym teammate, and fellow champion in Alexander Volkanovski, who the New Zealand fighter believes is mixed martial artsโ reigning GOAT.
Adesanya was asked about where he ranks himself among the all-time greats during this past weekโs UFC 293 media day, and in a moment of commendable humility, The Last Stylebender admitted that ranking wasnโt important to him at this stage before crowning Volkanovski the greatest of all time.
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โI was chasing that, I was chasing the greatest of all time and I still think Iโm one of the greatest of all time,โ explained Israel Adesanya.
โBut I put Alex Volkanovski as the greatest of all time, in my eyes, because I see the work he doesโฆ I love the way he fights and heโs one of my favourite fighters in history.โ
โThis is artโฆ Art is subjective, I donโt need you to think the way I think, you can think Kobe is the greatest of all time, you can think Magic Johnson is.โ
โYou can think whatever you want, you donโt have to think the way everyone else wants you to think and say what everyone else wants you to sayโฆ just say what you want.โ
Volkanovski has been making a compelling case for himself during his tenure at the worldโs leading MMA promotion, only conceding defeat once against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 (which itself was controversial and still debated to this day) across 14 bouts.
Outside of that, considering the sheer dominance of his performances thus far and the calibre of competition heโs faced โ ranging from Chad Mendes and The Korean Zombie (Jung Chan-sung) to Max Holloway (thrice) and former GOAT Jose Aldo โ certainly makes for an impressive rรฉsumรฉ.
At the very least, Volk will surely go down in history as one of the greatest-ever featherweight champions (if not the greatest).
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Adesanya does, however, believe he has a pretty good shot at being considered the GOAT over Alexander Volkanovski by the time he retires; he is currently chasing the legacy of Anderson Silva to be considered the greatest UFC middleweight champion (which is only a few more title defences away).
He added: โWhen have I ever given a f**k about the rankings? If you guys know my history and how I talk, I donโt give a f**k.โ
โBut I know Iโm the best and Iโm not done yet, Iโm still going. So I know when itโs all said and done, Iโll be the best.โ
The UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland main card is scheduled to go down at Sydneyโs Qudos Bank Arena this Sunday (September 10) at 12 PM AEST / 10 AM AWST.
The preliminary card, on the other hand, kicks off at 10 AM AEST / 8 AM AWST, following the early prelims which begin at 8 AM AEST / 6 AM AWST โ live-streamed for free on UFC Fight Pass and Kayo.
The pay-per-view element, however, will cost you $59.95 here in Australia. No UFC Fight Pass or Kayo subscription is required to purchase.
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