"I wasn't a fan of his artistry" - Israel Adesanya details how he gradually became a Khabib Nurmagomedov fan

Israel Adesanya has admitted that his admiration for former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has come along gradually.

At this moment in time there’s no middleweight on the planet who is better than Israel Adesanya and that much is obvious. Robert Whittaker will attempt to prove that theory wrong when the two clash next year for the second time, but there’s no way of denying the superiority of Israel Adesanya at 185 pounds.

Israel Adesanya: fighter turned connoisseur?

One man who also dominated his division during his time in the UFC was Khabib Nurmagomedov. 'The Eagle' fought his way to the top where he remained until retiring from professional mixed martial arts last year in the wake of his win over Justin Gaethje.

Now, in a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour, Israel Adesanya has spoken about how his view on Khabib’s style has changed over the years.

“It’s artistry. Art is subjective and if you don’t like someone’s style, you can say that.

“Some people, like Khabib, I wasn’t a fan of his artistry at first but then over time, slowly watching the way he’s worked his opponents, over time I’ve kind of become a bit of a fan of his artistry. If I say that about anyone, it doesn’t mean I don’t like them.”

Check out Israel Adesanya's appearance on The MMA Hour below:

It’s not hard to find Khabib Nurmagomedov’s style interesting but in equal measure, it’s also easy to understand why those who aren’t big fans of wrestling just can’t get along with it.

Someone like Israel Adesanya rarely has to rely on wrestling in order to get the job done, and in fact, he’s actually shown something of a weakness to the ground game as of late thanks to his loss against light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz.

Still, this is the middleweight version of Israel Adesanya we’re talking about here, and that guy just can’t seem to put a foot wrong - as he proved in his most recent outing against Marvin Vettori.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, probably isn’t going to care all too much about Izzy’s point of view given the fact he retired with an immense 29-0 record.