“I Think Herb Dean is the GOAT”- Israel Adesanya Hilariously Weighs in on the GOAT Debate

The UFC Middleweight Champion, Israel Adesanya, recently featured on Submission Radio and chimed in on a trending debate. Izzy weighed in on the current ‘Greatest Of All Time’ debate and had an interesting point of view.

Fans have been engaged in the GOAT debate ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov won at UFC 254. Not to mention, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva fought his last fight on October 24, 2020.

Although ‘The Spider’ lost the bout, he has several UFC records that have weathered the test of time. He is often looked at as one of the best and is certainly a candidate in the GOAT debate.

Israel Adesanya is on the shortlist to make it into the aforementioned discussion in a relatively short UFC tenure. He has looked like a force to be reckoned with inside the cage and recently defended his belt in spectacularly.

However, it seems as though Adesanya isn’t too dialed in on the debate. “People just have to understand that whole GOAT talk, the whole pound-for-pound list is made up.

“It’s literally people fighting over made up bullsh**. It’s made up, it’s all subjective and this is opinions. Everyone’s allowed to have who they think is the GOAT.”

Israel Adesanya: “What does it mean?”

‘Izzy’ hilariously called veteran referee Herb Dean the GOAT in order to explain the subjective basis the discussion is founded on. Adesanya also commented on Jon Jones, who is another name that is frequently thrown around by fans and the media.

“If I think that fu**ing Herb Dean is the GOAT and have that opinion so I don’t really…you seen me I just made fun of it saying I was a bird. It’s just silly how everyone’s arguing over it. Like it’s funny how Jones tweeted right after the Khabib won.

“He said, ‘I stepped down and relinquished my GOAT title and you can take this’ and then he comes back and starts crying over Twitter. All this GOAT talk…it’s fun, don’t get me wrong, but what does it mean?”

The discussion of the Greatest Of All Time is one that is not going to go away anytime soon. Fans love to engage in a spirited back and forth as to who’s the greatest fighter to ever do it.

However, it’s important to factor in specific criteria in order to have a productive debate.