Way-too-early top 10 MMA fighters of the 2020s

Israel Adesanya is among the fighters who could finish the 2020s as one of the decade’s best.

Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya

I’m not trolling by placing Jones and [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] so close to each other on our way-too-early list, but I do think their paths may cross once or twice over the course of the next decade.

Adesanya’s performances as a middleweight are likely to make his star continue rising as he becomes not just a UFC superstar, but a dominant champion and a fighter whose bouts are among the most-watched over the next 10 years. The UFC’s 185-pound division is going through a transitional period, with a new crop of young stars rising to the top. And while Adesanya isn’t the youngest in actual age – he’s 30 – he’s young in the sport, with his best years still very much ahead of him.

It’s easy to forget that, despite his position as UFC middleweight champion, Adesanya has only been fighting at the top level of MMA for a little over a year, and I suspect we’re only scratching the surface of what “The Last Stylebender” is capable of inside the octagon.

With some big fights looming at 185, plus the potential superfight with Jones at 205, big things are coming for Adesanya.

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