It’s been five years since Israel Adesanya last competed in a non-title fight in the UFC Octagon.
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will compete in his first UFC non-title bout this Saturday at UFC Riyadh against surging contender Nassourdine Imavov. A victory over Imavov will move him one step closer to potentially securing another middleweight title shot after back-to-back defeats.
As Adesanya quickly ascended the middleweight rankings and cemented himself as a promising young star, he battled UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva at UFC 234. After the card’s main event fell apart due to Robert Whittaker’s illness, the UFC promoted Adesanya vs. Silva as the card’s main event, and it didn’t disappoint.
Adesanya and Silva showed off their swagger and elite striking skillset in the UFC 234 main event. But it was Adesanya who had the more viral moments as he taunted Silva throughout the fight, similar to what Silva did to so many elite fighters during the prime of his career.
After three rounds of highly competitive action, Adesanya earned the unanimous decision win on the judges’ scorecards. The fight was viewed as a ‘passing of the torch’ between Silva and Adesanya as a new era began in the middleweight division.
Israel Adesanya shares honest mid-fight reaction to facing Anderson Silva
During a 2019 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Adesanya reflected on facing Silva in his first-career UFC pay-per-view main event.
“That was iconic, I wish he left after that fight, I wanted to be the one,” Adesanya said. “He’s never had someone do to him what he’s done to people…the guys he beat [in his prime], they couldn’t last in this era…I fanboyed over the guy his whole career, and I knew what he was going to do before he would do it.
“There was one moment in the third round when he went ‘Come on!’, kind of sat there, and I sat back and went ‘I wanna wait too!’. And then I thought ‘Oh s***, I’m fighting Anderson Silva’…that’s why I fight, for iconic moments, f*** the belt.”
Adesanya captured the interim UFC middleweight title by outpointing Kelvin Gastelum in his next fight at UFC 236. It’s considered one of the greatest fights in UFC history as Adesanya faced adversity for the first time in his MMA career.
Adesanya learned many lessons from the Silva fight; which he used to eventually secure the lineal middleweight belt over Whittaker at UFC 243. He successfully defended the title five times before a loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
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Israel Adesanya’s win over Anderson Silva jumpstarted path to superstardom
Silva is regarded by many as one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time after setting numerous records. His 10 consecutive title defenses were seen as an insurmountable record before Demetrious Johnson broke it with a win over Ray Borg at UFC 216.
Silva defeated the likes of Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, and Dan Henderson during his UFC tenure. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.
Adesanya will likely join Silva in the UFC Hall of Fame, but in the meantime, he has some unfinished business inside the Octagon. Without facing Silva during his prime, Adesanya might’ve not become the superstar athlete he is today.