Israel Adesanya explains why he thinks he may have been underappreciated

UFC sensation Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts on his impactful tenure as the middleweight champion within the promotion.

Ahead of his upcoming bout against Joe Pyfer this weekend, the 36-year-old Adesanya is focused on bouncing back from recent losses and re-establishing his position as a top contender in the middleweight division.

Adesanya once held an iron grip over the 185-pound division as its undisputed king. The current middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, is anticipated to defend his title against Sean Strickland later this year.

Prior to his return to competition, Adesanya opened up about his perspective on being an active champion at the highest level of the sport.

Adesanya on Feeling Underappreciated

In an interview with ESPN MMA, Adesanya commented on the current landscape of the middleweight division: “Look at the middleweight division now. 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 (referring to Chimaev's perceived status or high-profile position), 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.”

He further elaborated, "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.’ That, and I’m sure there’s other things as well, but that’s one thing I can say that people didn’t appreciate, even I might not have appreciated, was how active I was and how much I gave to the game while I was holding the belt.”

Adesanya believes that his consistent willingness to challenge the best fighters and frequently defend his title was a characteristic that went largely unacknowledged. He feels that this exceptional level of activity and dedication was not fully valued by fans, or even by himself, until he took a step back and observed the division from the outside. He suggests that the sport has a slower pace without his constant presence, recognizing that his contributions and tireless championship defenses were potentially underestimated.