Daniel Cormier just put reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on hold as he declared ‘The Spider’ Anderson Silva as the undisputed GOAT of the 185-pound division.

While participating in a QnA on his ESPN show, DC&RC, the UFC’s second simultaneous two-division champion replied to a fan who questioned him if ‘The Stylebender’ would become middleweight GOAT if he beats Robert Whittaker in their UFC 271 main event clash.

Cormier said, “Dude, Anderson Silva existed. Anderson Silva existed, like, I don’t get this recency bias that fans have. Guys, you can’t just—honestly, I think the word GOAT gets thrown around way too easy in fight sports.”

“You’ve got to really—the only person that doesn’t get passed is Muhammad Ali. There have been really impressive fighters, but people recognize what Muhammad Ali was. Anderson Silva was to MMA what Muhammad Ali was to boxing. No, Izzy has some work to do to catch Anderson.”

Israel Adesanya has been on a great run, but he still is far from surpassing Silva to become the middleweight kingpin. While ‘Stylebender’ is preparing for his fourth undisputed title defense, ‘The Spider’ already has 10 successful title defenses to his name.

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Also, Silva held onto the strap for 2,457 days. Hence, the only thing that is certain for Adesanya is that he needs to conquer more foes before being called the GOAT. A win over the UFC pound-for-pound king could be huge.

Kamaru Usman’s manager wants him to fight Israel Adesanya

Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya have a good and respectful relationship. Even though being a double division champion is something every divisional champ aspires to be in the UFC, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has made it absolutely clear that he won’t try that as long as his compatriot reigns supreme at 185 lbs.

In a recent GQ interview, Usman claimed he pondered skipping Adesanya to face then-light heavyweight champion Blachowicz to fulfill his dream. This cemented his refusal to fight his Nigerian brother.

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However, his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has some other plans in mind. In an interview with TMZ Sports, the manager stated he wants to see both of them clash for Usman to become ‘champ champ’.

“Listen, these guys, they’re cool, but I don’t think they’re best friends… If there is enough money for both of them to fight, they will fight in the parking lot,” Abdelaziz said.

“I want to see Kamaru Usman, before end of the road, have two titles. I’m selfish, I’m greedy.”

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Do you think Israel Adesanya can topple Silva to become the middleweight GOAT? Let us know in the comments below.