As far as Israel Adesanya is concerned, Kamaru Usman is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
Over the last few years, the debate over who the best pound-for-pound fighter is has been rampant with many switching up their picks as time goes on.
From Jon Jones to Khabib Nurmagomedov, there have been a couple of candidates for the unofficial accolade.
Today, welterweight champion Usman is widely regarded to be at the top of the heap, although there are many other contenders for that crown.
Israel Adesanya: Kamaru Usman Is P4P Best Right Now
Adesanya is one of them.
However, he was willing to give props to his fellow Nigerian by rating him as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
“He’s the best fighter right now,” Adesanya said in a recent episode of Mike Tyson’s podcast. “He’s lapping the division. He’s doing it at 170, I’m doing it at 185. I’ll put him up there. He’s probably the best fighter active right now. I’ll give it to him.
“… [Before I became champion] A reporter asked me, ‘do you hope he loses his title shot so you can be the first Nigerian [to win a belt].’ I was like yuck. Why would I? I’ve never been one of those guys to be like, ‘I hope he loses his chance at a belt so I can be the first Nigerian.'”
Tyson would then note how ripped Usman was to which Adesanya responded.
“”I’m telling you, I’m the runt of my people,” Adesanya added. “Look at him, look at Francis [Ngannou] and look at me. … You go around Nigeria, you’ll find five of these within a block. Trust, trust. … The genetic specimens of Africans are different, man.”
You can watch the full interview below:
