Israel Adesanya Reacts To Anderson Silva Fight Criticism

Israel Adesanya reacts to the criticism that his upcoming fight against former UFC middleweight champion Anderson has received from certain fight fans. Just last week, Adesanya claimed that once he had a meeting with UFC President Dana White, he sold the boss on his plans.

Those plans were about his future in the Las Vegas-based promotion. Well, now we know what those plans are all about. In fact, many see this fight being a #1 contender’s bout as odd as that might sound. Silva claims to be promised a title shot should he beat the rising prospect.

On the flip side, Adesanya is on fire right now and could make the argument he should be next in line. Once talking with Submission Radio, Adesanya addressed the criticism surrounding his fight with the former UFC champ.

““People who aren’t in my shoes (don’t understand),” Adesanya said (H/T to MMAFighting). “Look, he’s not Chuck Liddell. Don’t get me wrong, because of that being so recent people were like, ‘oh, how dare you, he’s 43’. Look, last time he was finished was when he broke his leg. He hasn’t been losing badly. He beat Derek Brunson. That was a close fight, I guess, but yeah, I think he’s just been bored.”

Israel Adesanya Hopeful

The UFC 234 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, February 10, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. In his latest batch of fights, he’s 1-4-1 and is coming off a win over Derek Brunson at the UFC 208 pay-per-view event back in February 2017.

For Adesanya, he believes he is the certain fighter to bring back the old Silva who dominated the middleweight division for years.

““Initially I was disappointed (because he turned the fight down),” Adesanya said. “I was like, man, this is a guy who liked the big challenges, the great show. As he used to say, ‘I want great show,’ you know. And then he said no to me. I said, man, maybe he doesn’t have it anymore. And then he came back last Sunday, yup, I wanna do it. I’m like, they must have made him an offer he can’t refuse, and instantly I knew it was like, title shot. I was like, alright then. But I like to think it’s me.”