Is Israel Adesanya the Next MMA Legend?

Israel Adesanya Stops Paulo Costa By TKO! Making Of A MMA Legend? The mixed martial arts world was abuzz this weekend over the UFC 253 middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa. The final, dramatic results were expected by some, but shocking to many. Adesanya stopped Costa at 4:00 into the 2nd round by TKO, a scenario that many fans, fighters, and pundits did not see coming.

Although many have stated that Israel is one of the best strikers in the UFC, they did not believe that Adesanya’s skinny, wiry frame could hold up to the monstrous and violent pressure that Costa is known for, or that he had the power to inflict any threatening damage to Paulo. On paper, that viewpoint held a lot of merit, but at UFC 253, the total opposite happened in the Octagon.

Israel Adesanya not only suffered little damage in the fight, he put on a striking and fighting clinic that made Costa look like he didn’t belong in the cage. For the 1st time in Paulo Costa’s UFC career, he looked human. Costa’s performance was nothing like any of his previous fights. He looked hesitant, barely applied any forward pressure, and didn’t put Adesanya in any troubling positions.

Prior to the lead up of UFC 253, Costa stated in an interview that he would not “chase Adesanya”, which seems to be the opposite of what his fighting style has been. It looks as if Paulo kept his word and chose to be more cautious this time out.

Upon further review of this fight, one of the reasons Costa had such little success was the masterful evasion, set-ups, and movement of Israel Adesanya. It’s apparent that Adesanya and his team at City Kick Boxing came overprepared for Paulo, and their training worked to a tee. Israel’s performance on this night may be one of the most masterful performances in UFC fight history.

The fight is reminiscent of UFC 126: Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, where you had an exciting, top-of-the-line striker in Silva, and a whirlwind, beast of a puncher in Belfort. At that time, we wondered if there was anything Silva could do to stop Belfort. Vitor was simply too strong, too fast, and Silva was too skinny.

Then it happened. “A front kick to the face!” - Joe Rogan Fast forward to UFC 253, where we see this dynamic play out right in front of our eyes for a second time.

Are we witnessing the rise of another MMA legend? Is it possible that Israel Adesanya is ascending the mountain to greatness? Of course, we will have to sit back and observe his continuing journey, but when a man was as counted out as he was, called weak, skinny, “a dancer”, was predicted to be knocked out and lose the belt, only to overcome his toughest test to date and dominate the perceived baddest middleweight on the planet, that speaks huge volumes.

To his credit, Israel does not seem to be looking for the easiest fights. Although one particular performance did not live up to it’s hype at UFC 248, remember that Adesanya called out Yoel Romero, someone that no fighter is looking to face off with.

Now that UFC 253 is officially behind us, Israel is once again focusing his energy on a match with a fighter that no one is looking for, Jared Cannonier. A fight with Jared may not generate as much hype as was made for UFC 253, but it is definitely not an easy night at the office for any middleweight today. Looking at other potential matchups for Izzy, you have Jack Hermansson, Darren Till, a possible rematch with Robert Whittaker, and bad guy Chael Sonnen recently stated that Chris Weidman would give Adesanya problems.

We’ve seen Weidman do this twice already, so that equation alone is certainly entertaining to think of. Then, if Israel really wants the ultimate, legendary building challenge, you still have Jon Jones on the horizon. This potential matchup would become a super mega fight that would test Adesanya to the limit. Defeating Jones would instantly cement Izzy’s legacy in one night.

So, in foresight, there are still many great challengers in front of Adesanya, but he looks game and ready to face them head on. While we’re not quite ready to put Israel in the Mount Rushmore of MMA legends, he certainly took one step closer with his masterful defeat of Paulo Costa. I understand the many comparisons to Anderson Silva, but he doesn’t need to be Silva, he’s Israel Adesanya. Stay tuned.