Israel Adesanya impressed by Jose Aldo's 'classic' UFC 265 win, believes he should be in the MMA GOAT conversation

Many in the MMA community have touted Israel Adesanya as a future candidate for the title of GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) in the sport of MMA. Adesanya, the reigning UFC middleweight champion, is undefeated at middleweight in his professional mixed martial arts career.

The sole loss of his MMA career came via a unanimous decision at light heavyweight when he moved up to face UFC 205-pound champion Jan Blachowicz in March 2021.

That said, Israel Adesanya returned to the win column with a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 in June 2021. Adesanya has vowed to cement his legacy as one of the greatest to ever compete in MMA.

On that note, ‘The Last Stylebender’ happened to suggest another highly accomplished fighter’s name for consideration in the GOAT debate. In a UFC 265 reaction video posted on his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya praised Brazilian MMA legend Jose Aldo.

“People forget. People don’t know (Jose) Aldo. That’s the thing. Like, that before he got starched by Conor (McGregor), they’d understand the run he had. Oh…”, Adesanya said, reacting while watching the UFC 265 fight between Aldo and Pedro Munhoz on TV. “They need to understand. They don’t know about the history. You know, this whole stupid GOAT conversation, he should be in there, 100 percent.”

Adesanya also praised the combinations thrown by Aldo during the fight.

“Oh, mate! Combo! Plus 50 points! The way he exits, the angles he exits off," he added. "Oh, bro, check out the technique. Check out the technique.”

Furthermore, ‘The Last Stylebender’ hailed Aldo’s performance as a classic, before clapping once the fight ended.

“Classic. A classic. Another one.” (*Video courtesy: FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

Israel Adesanya defends his UFC middleweight title; Jose Aldo pursues bantamweight gold

Robert Whittaker (left); Israel Adesanya (right)

Israel Adesanya is expected to defend his UFC middleweight title against Robert Whittaker in a rematch next. Adesanya holds a KO win over Whittaker, who’s looking to avenge his loss and reclaim the title.

The rivalry between Adesanya and Whittaker appears to be heating back up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eQCLE1Lfph

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 21, 2021

Meanwhile, former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo secured a dominant unanimous decision win against elite bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265.

Aldo is on a quest to capture the UFC bantamweight title and is likely to face another high-ranking bantamweight in his next fight.