5 reasons why Israel Adesanya is currently the best striker in the UFC 

#2. His high-kick setups

While much is said about Adesanya's low kicks, his high-kicks are extremely efficient. Though Israel Adesanya certainly benefits from his speed, the bulk of what enables his high-kicks to land as frequently as they do is the variety of high-kick setups. One of these setups was best used against Paulo Costa, a pressure fighter who constantly moves forward and makes the prospect of throwing kicks more difficult as it is tremendously difficult to throw kicks with much power or follow-through when one is moving backward.

As Costa trapped Israel Adesanya's lead hand with his own to neutralize the jab, Adesanya faked the straight with his alternate hand to trick Costa into slipping the punch. As Costa prepared to slip the faked straight, he unknowingly moved his head into the path of a hard high-kick.

Adesanya sometimes uses jabs to setup a high-kick. He peppers his foe with his jab, establishing its threat until his foe begins slipping it. Once that defensive reaction is in place, Adesanya throws the jab to draw the slip, and again, his opponent unknowingly moves their head in the direction of a high-kick.

Another high-kick setup relies on his low kicks and body kicks. After punishing his opponents with hard kicks to the legs and midsection, Adesanya throws his leg low, as if to target the body or legs. Once his opponents drop their hands to catch the kick, Adesanya whips his leg high, targeting the head with a question mark kick.

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#1. Adesanya has outstruck other great strikers

Many fighters who are heralded as phenoms in their respective skill-sets, whether it's grappling or striking, rarely face opponents who are highly skilled in those areas. For example, a common argument made by Khabib Nurmagomedov's detractors is that the retired lightweight champion never faced a strong wrestler or highly skilled grappler outside of Rafael dos Anjos, who performs poorly off his back.

Similarly, the greatness of Anderson Silva's striking has been questioned as the Brazilian legend rarely ever faced anyone who didn't overreact to his naked feints or dare to double up their jab against him. Israel Adesanya, on the other hand, has proven his skill-set as an elite striker against other great strikers like Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa, and even Anderson Silva himself. Furthermore, the sheer variety of strikers Adesanya has faced is almost incomparable.

Anderson Silva was an elusive, tricky counter-puncher. Robert Whittaker is a unique blend of boxing and Gōjū-ryū karate. Paulo Costa is a clubbing kickboxer who uses constant pressure and cuts the cage in pursuit of sandwiching his opponents between himself and the fence. Israel Adesanya has bested them all and is now the best striker in the UFC.