UFC Fans At Odds Over Chael Sonnen’s Latest Israel Adesanya Take

UFC champ Israel Adesanya

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The UFC’s middleweight division has been one of the more historic weight classes over the years.

Anderson Silva held the title for years and now Israel Adesanya makes his own case as a future GOAT of the sport.

Now, UFC fan favorite Chael Sonnen shares his take on the middleweight division and it has fight fans completely at odds.

According to MMA Fighting, Sonnen “anoint(s) ‘The Last Stylebender’ as the greatest middleweight to ever lace up a pair of four-ounce gloves.”

Chael Sonnen used the Adesanya-Silva fight to help solidify his reasoning.

“Those guys fought, so that’s where it’s a hard time for me. When two guys fight, and then you argue that the guy that lost is better, and then you try to get smart with it and go, ‘Well, but it wasn’t in their prime,’ it’s just weird.”

Sonnen clearly doesn’t like the “Silva was past his prime” argument for that UFC 234 matchup. He provided an argument explaining why that fight was as difficult for Adesanya in a different way.

“It was one of these things — 16 [years old] — and all these years later, you’re standing across from the guy that you looked up to, that got you into the sport, his poster is on your wall. There’s a lot against Izzy in that fight too, not just Father Time that was against Anderson. It goes both ways. They fought, it was head-to-head, and he won.”

Lastly, Chael Sonnen thinks Anderson Silva would agree with him on this topic, per MMA Fighting.

“I don’t know, I think you have to live with that. And you know who’d back me up is Anderson. Anderson Silva wouldn’t tell you, ‘Make an excuse for me.’ [He’d tell you,] ‘I fought him, fair and square. He won.'”

Despite making a strong argument, UFC fans can’t help but further the conversation with an argument of their own.

Anderson Silva vs. Israel Adesanya, with both in their prime, would be a dream matchup we’ll never witness. Regardless, fight fans make sure their opinions are heard.

A counterargument is that people choosing Adesanya are just having recency bias. Just saying.

Some UFC fans think Chael Sonnen is just being petty.

The UFC has had numerous great fighters over the years. One of the most fun topics to discuss is who would be the best of them all.

Anderson Silva is easily one of the GOATs of the sport. However, Israel Adesanya is making a strong case to enter those discussions.

With that said, can we just appreciate greatness when we see it?