Breaking: Khabib Nurmagomedov praises Israel Adesanya; tells him what he needs to do to be on same level as Jon Jones

Khabib Nurmagomedov heaped praise on Israel Adesanya as the middleweight champion goes into his UFC 281 title defense against Alex Pereira. Nurmagomedov claimed that he doesn't miss Adesanya's fights and wished him luck for his upcoming matchup.

'The Eagle' also believes that Adesanya doesn't get the credit that he deserves for all that he has achieved. Nurmagomedov believes 'The Last Stylebender' is just a couple of title defenses away from being on the same pedestal as the legendary Jon Jones. 'The Eagle' wrote on Twitter:

"I don't miss Adesanya's fights and actually feel like he doesn’t get the credit he deserve. If he defends the title a couple more times, he will be on the same level with Jon Jones. Good luck @stylebender #ufc281"

Jon Jones recorded a total of eleven successful title defenses during his dominant run atop the light heavyweight division for the better part of the last decade. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya is going into his sixth title defense against Alex Pereira at UFC 281.

While 'The Last Stylebender' falls short behind Jones on the numbers, the reality is slightly different. Israel Adesanya will have essentially cleaned out the entire middleweight division, some of them twice, if he beats 'Poatan' at UFC 281. It should be noted that the middleweight champ will also be looking to avenge two previous kickboxing losses in Saturday night's main-event.