Israel Adesanya explains why he feels underappreciated
Israel Adesanya opens up on why he feels people didn't appreciate him while he was on top.
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has felt somewhat underappreciated despite being one of the sport's top stars. Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), who returns to action against Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Fight 271 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, hasn't elaborated on why he felt that way until now. "Look at the middleweight division now," Adesanya told ESPN MMA .
"Khamzat (Chimaev) was a very active guy coming up, smoking everybody, fighting multiple times, sometimes twice in a month, even at one point. And now that he's champion, I'm not sure what the deal is. Is it VISA issues?
Injuries? I'm not sure, but now he's got a fight coming up. You know, the last active champion was me.
"The last guy who put it on the line, regardless, called out the best, was me. So yeah, that's one thing I can say that people didn't appreciate until – even I didn't appreciate until now that I'm here watching it, and I'm like, 'Damn. This game is slow and just stuck without me.