"Definitely in the GOAT conversation" - Fans awestruck by Israel Adesanya's "insane" 104-9 record across different combat sports

After the longest stretch of inactivity in his combat sports career, Israel Adesanya appears set to make his return to the octagon at UFC 305 in August, where he will reportedly challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title. ESPN MMA shared a photo on Instagram praising 'The Last Stylebender's' ridiculous 104-9 record across mixed martial arts, kickboxing, and boxing, captioning the post:

"Israel Adesanya really has one of the greatest combat resumes of all time spanning multiple sports 😤 His return is going to be massive 👀"

Check out the post from ESPN MMA below:

Fans reacted to the post by praising the two-time UFC middleweight champion. @lazo.dlshad believes that Adesanya belongs in the conversation for the greatest combat sports athlete of all time:

"He is definitely in the goat conversation"

@ashley_barniv pointed out that his record is insane:

"I rlly think that people dosen’t realise how insane that statline is"

@gooodvibez__ labeled 'The Last Stylebender' as one of the greatest fighters of all time:

"the disrespect for izzy is crazy .. one of the greatest fighters ever no doubt about it"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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Israel Adesanya's coach reveals that he will fight for the title next

While rumors are brewing that Israel Adesanya will have the first opportunity to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title, nothing has been made official. 'The Last Stylebender's' long-time head coach Eugene Bareman recently revealed that his return will come in a title bout.

Speaking to The New Zealand Herald, the City Kickboxing founder stated:

"Israel will be fighting for the title next. The date, I’m not sure. Give us a date and we’ll take it. We’re sitting ready to go... Israel’s pretty adamant that he has to fight for the title. It’s not up to Du Plessis. If that was the case, I wish Israel as a champion had those sorts of choices. The truth is, he probably didn’t."

Adesanya's last 11 fights have had a belt on the line, with him holding an impressive 8-3 record in those bouts. Furthermore, du Plessis seemingly confirmed that the two will clash with an Instagram post on Tuesday. 'The Last Stylebender' will look to become just the second fighter in UFC history to capture a title three times in the same division, joining Randy Couture.

Check out Dricus du Plessis' post on facing Israel Adesanya below: