UFC featherweight star Alexander Volkanovski has named Israel Adesanya among his top five greatest fighters of all time, hailing the Nigerian-New Zealander as the “greatest striker the UFC has ever seen.”
Volkanovski, who recently lost his title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, made the remarks during a Q&A session on his YouTube channel. He ranked former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson as his overall GOAT, followed by Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Adesanya.
The endorsement comes as Adesanya prepares for his upcoming non-pay-per-view clash against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 in Saudi Arabia on February 1. Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has backed Adesanya to emerge victorious despite acknowledging Imavov’s formidable skills.
Adesanya will headline the UFC’s debut show in Saudi Arabia at the ANB Arena, Riyadh, as he looks to bounce back from consecutive losses to current champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 in August and Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.
A victory over seventh-ranked Imavov could put Adesanya in contention for a number-one contender match against undefeated star Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev recently impressed Adesanya with his dominant victory over Whittaker, and Adesanya has expressed interest in facing the Chechen fighter.
“I was surprised by the way Khamzat ran through Rob, that was crazy. That made me want to fight him. I was like, ‘okay, this guy’s actually really, really good,'” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel.
Chimaev also expressed admiration for Adesanya’s abilities in an interview with Daniel Cormier, stating, “Izzy is a better fighter than Du Plessis, I think. Yeah, they fought (and Izzy lost) but, as a fighter, you have to ask, how much are you hungry? How much do you want it?”