WWE legend Booker T says Israel Adesanya is 'the Muhammad Ali of MMA'

I. Adesanya (left) retained the belt against R. Whittaker (right) in the UFC 271. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Shortly after defending the middleweight belt (up to 83,9 kg) for the fourth time in UFC 271, Israel adesanya received congratulations from WWE legend Booker T, of whom he admitted to being a big fan. The converse, in this case, is true.

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During his appearance on the podcast “The MMA Hour”, on the North American website “MMA Fighting”, last Monday (14), Booker T admitted to journalist Ariel Helwani that he is also a fan of Israel adesanya. The WWE Hall of Famer compared the Nigerian to boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

“Seeing Izzy paying respect to Booker T makes me understand how I made him feel when he was young, how I could inspire him. You can tell he was a fan. You can tell he loves not only what I did for him, but the game of pro-wrestling, the entertainment. He is an artist. He is the Muhammad Ali of the MMA world. I’m telling you, he’s a generational talent that only comes around every few years,” said Booker T.

MMA fan and Houston resident Booker T attended the UFC 271 as a member of the press. On “MMA Hour”, the WWE legend also spoke about Adesanya's likely next challenge in Ultimate: Jared Cannonier.

“Cannonier has a chance for a punch. Every fighter has a chance when he enters the Octagon. We can remember Matt Serra, no one ever thought he could win that fight, but he came in with a punch and that was enough. A big punch. Cannonier can win this fight because he is a dog. He won't give up. It will be a tough fight for him against Izzy because he will never be in a position to be hit, he will always be attacking. That’s the problem when facing Izzy,” said Booker T.

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