When it was announced Israel Adesanya would make the walk to the Octagon against former champion, and pound-for-pound great, Anderson Silva at UFC 234, it left many fans and pundits scratching their heads.
Sitting at No. 6 on official UFC’s middleweight rankings, Adesanaya, 29, is fresh off a violent first round stoppage win over Derek Brunson at UFC 230. On when flip side, the unranked Silva, 43, hasn’t fought since Feb. 2017.
On paper, the booking didn’t make much sense as Adesanaya was essentially risking a potential title shot in order face a legend of the sport.