"The same category as Anderson Silva” - Dricus du Plessis shares honest opinion on Israel Adesanya’s legacy after loss to Nassourdine Imavov

Reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has shared his honest opinion on Israel Adesanya’s legacy after losing to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia.

After a loss this past weekend, Adesanya revealed to fans that he would help his teammates in the upcoming days, take some time off, and then be back in the octagon.

'The Last Stylebender' is on a three-fight losing streak. At UFC Saudi Arabia, fans witnessed the fight start strong, with the former two-time middleweight champion demonstrating his speed and effectiveness in the first round. However, in round two, 'The Sniper' stunned and knocked out the Nigerian-born Kiwi with a powerful right hand.

While some fans and analysts believe that Adesanya will always be regarded as one of the greats, others want him to cement his status in the middleweight category again.

Meanwhile, du Plessis appeared on the UFC 312 pre-fight presser and gave his thoughts on 'The Last Stylebender's' untouched legacy. '

Stillknocks' thinks that former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker can make another title run, being 34 years old. However, about the Nigerian-born Kiwi, who is now 35, the South African phenom opined:

"For Izzy I don’t think there is another title run... His legacy is cemented and will always be there and whatever he feels like doing he can do. I put him in the same category as Anderson Silva at this stage."

Du Plessis added:

"Lose as many fights as you want. You’ll always have your legacy. Anderson Silva after when his reign ended, I don’t care how many times he lost, he was still my GOAT… And I feel Izzy is in that area."

Check out Dricus Du Plessis' comments about Israel Adesanya (24:23):

The middleweight champion believes that if the Nigerian-born Kiwi is still passionate about fighting, he should fight again, as nothing can tarnish his legacy.

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Michael Bisping considers Israel Adesanya "a showman"

Israel Adesanya, who has lost four of his last five fights, once dominated the octagon and even knocked out Alex Pereira in 2023 to reclaim his middleweight strap. However, after losing to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, there has been a steep decline in the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s career.

Adensanya has promised fans that he will be back. However, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, who believes that 'The Last Stylebender' should opt for retirement, said in a recent YouTube video on his channel:

"Izzy is charismatic. The man can break dance. I’ve seen him do a bit of rapping and you know he is a showman and he can probably go into acting and stuff… But he is like why wouldn’t I do one more get into the few million dollars, try and exit on a win…that’s always the issue."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments about Israel Adesanya (21:43):