Israel Adesanya doesn't agree with Conor McGregor's UFC record claims

Israel Adesanya doesn't quite agree with Conor McGregor's claims at a specific UFC record.

In 2016, Conor McGregor made history by becoming the first man to ever hold two UFC titles in two different weight divisions simultaneously. McGregor, then the UFC featherweight champion, dismantled Eddie Alvarez in just two rounds to win the UFC lightweight championship as well.

To mark the four-year anniversary of his stellar feat, McGregor took to social media to celebrate what he called "World Champ Champ Day".

On Instagram, McGregor posted a series of photos from his fight with Alvarez, and claimed the record for Most Knockdowns in a UFC Title Fight.

"Most Knockdowns in a UFC World Title Fight! Clinical shooting. I have surpassed this level, multiple times over. Excited to showcase!" McGregor claimed

In the comments section of McGregor's post however, a certain reigning UFC middleweight champion chimed in on the supposed record.

"2nd most knockdowns," Adesanya posted, along with an emoji of a sly grin.

The reason for Adesanya's counter, is that according to the official UFC records, Adesanya owns the distinction of having the most knockdowns in a UFC title fight in his UFC interim middleweight championship match against Kelvin Gastelum back in 2019. In that five-round war, Adesanya dropped Gastelum four times.

Israel Adesanya's (@Stylebender) 4⃣ knockdowns tonight are tied for 3rd most by a fighter in a single @UFC fight, behind Forrest Petz and Jeremy Stephens each connecting with five in a fight. #UFC236 pic.twitter.com/lwiv14WFOq

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 14, 2019

McGregor has countered this claim before as well.

With the help of some fan-submitted evidence, the Irish combat sports icon believes that he was able to knock Alvarez down five times during their title fight.

Wait, what? The @ufc did what? That’s twice now! I want plaques before I’m back. Digital plaques shall do. Hurry up @ufc, I’ll be here. And use a good image. https://t.co/Hq1j8GWcg8

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 17, 2019

Earlier this year, McGregor once again brought this issue up, saying that he would have had set two records set in the Alvarez fight, had the UFC counted the knockdowns.

Strangely this knockdown, the 4th of 5 in this bout, wasn’t scored a knockdown. Yet he went to a knee. 3 point of contact = knockdown!With this scored, I would have not only the record for “Fastest KO in a UFC title fight”, I’d have the record for “Most Knockdowns” in one too. https://t.co/Xt9nSOQtOr

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 3, 2020

While it's highly likely that McGregor will never officially win this little debate (unless of course he actually does score five knockdowns or more in a future title fight), he probably will continue to claim this record for his own, each time he celebrates 'World Champ Champ Day'.

Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, and the UFC's Knockdown Records

According to the UFC's official records, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya owns the record for Most Knockdowns in a UFC World Title Fight with four in his fight with Kelvin Gastelum, while Conor McGregor is second with three in his fight with Eddie Alvarez.

So who rounds out the top five?

In reality, McGregor shares the second spot with five other fighters who were able to knock their opponents down three times in a UFC title fight:

Frank Mir (vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira)

Gray Maynard (vs. Frankie Edgar)

Anderson Silva (vs. Rich Franklin)

Georges St-Pierre (vs. Jon Fitch)

Lyoto Machida (vs. Rashad Evans)

As for Knockdowns in a UFC Bout in general, the record-holders are Jeremy Stephens and Forrest Petz, who both have registered five knockdowns in a single fight.

Adesanya's four knockdowns is second-most, tied with Nate Marquardt, Brad Blackburn, Josh Emmet, and Khalil Rountree Jr.