Jon Anik believes Israel Adesanya cemented his status as the “greatest middleweight of all time” with his highlight reel KO at UFC 287

UFC commentator Jon Anik believes Israel Adesanya is the greatest middleweight of all time following UFC 287.

Last Saturday night at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya proved his doubters wrong in style by knocking out Alex Pereira. In doing so, he was able to reclaim his UFC middleweight championship.

The win cements his status as one of the greatest 185-pounders ever in mixed martial arts. In the eyes of some, though, Anderson Silva still holds the distinction of being the GOAT at that weight class. The two, as we know, fought in early 2019, with ‘Stylebender’ winning in a fun three-round battle.

In the eyes of Jon Anik, aka the voice of the UFC, Adesanya’s win over Pereira now puts him above ‘The Spider’ in the conversation.

“It also, in my humble opinion, cements Israel Adesanya as the greatest of all time,” Anik said. “There are people who can still argue Anderson Silva is the greatest Middleweight Champion of all time, and in terms of the title defenses, that is okay. But I sit here in 2023, and not just argue for Adesanya’s case as one of the best pound-for-pound guys right now, I think he’s the greatest Middleweight Champion of all time on his strength of schedule, and based on this win.”

Quotes via MMA News

Anik backs Adesanya

It’s always fun to have debates like this at the elite level. However, it does feel like we need to wait and see how Israel’s career plays out before making any kind of final assessment.

Who knows, maybe a permanent move to light heavyweight is what comes next.

Do you agree with Jon Anik? Out of the two champions, who do you believe had the harder schedule – Israel Adesanya or Anderson Silva? Let us know your thoughts on this debate in the comments, BJPENN Nation!