Israel Adesanya recently likened the Paddy Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje fight to the paradigm shift-enacting fight between Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin in 2005 at the inaugural Ultimate Fighter season finale. UFC 324 kicked off the new media rights deal on Paramount and saw Justin Gaethje achieve the unprecedented feat of becoming a two-time interim UFC champ when he bested Paddy Pimblett on the scorecards in the headliner of the night.
Former interim UFC middleweight champ, who would go on to secure two reigns with the legendary strap, Israel Adesanya, recently weighed in on the bout that saw Gaethje emerge with the strap once again. This comparison point with Griffin vs. Bonnar was expressed by the standout middleweight combatant on his YouTube channel recently, as Adesanya said [via MMA Junkie],
“The main event was sick. This is perfect because the Spike TV deal, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar showed out and made the whole world go, ‘What the f**k.’ This is like part 2 I guess because it’s the new deal with Paramount, and then the main event f**king showed out. I’m sure everyone watched this. A lot of eyes on this, and the main event delivered, which is what you want.”
Israel Adesanya is not optimistic on 185-pound class ahead of UFC Seattle comeback
Israel Adesanya returns at UFC Seattle toward the end of March to clash with surging contender Joe Pyfer, but the former kingpin of middleweight does not seem to be terribly enthused by the broader state of 185 pounds in the UFC. This was expressed during a recent interview that the former kickboxing standout gave on The Ariel Helwani Show prior to the UFC’s schedule kicking off for the calendar year, as Adesanya stated [via BJPenn.com],
“The middleweight division right now isn’t really the same as when I was in the game. What was the last exciting thing at middleweight? Exciting, and people were talking about it – it’s good they have Khamzat as champion, that was probably the last exciting thing, becoming champion.”
“No UFC for six weeks…for me, it just doesn’t feel the same as when I was around. I gave people someone to love; I gave some people someone to hate. Gave them something to feel, whether they loved me or hated me. Right now it just feels bland. Other divisions are way more exciting.”