WATCH | UFC legends Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman go toe-to-toe in sparring

Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman are two of the greatest fighters in UFC history. They also happen to be good friends.

Adesanya is the former UFC middleweight champ. Usman is the former champion at welterweight. While Adesanya currently lives in New Zealand, and Usman in the United States, both were born in Nigeria, and bonded over their shared heritage during their time as UFC champions.

While neither man currently holds a UFC title, they have remained close friends, and recently got a sparring session in when Adesanya visited Usman at his gym in South Florida.

You can see tons of footage between the two UFC legends below, as posted by Adesanya on YouTube.

The legacies of Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman

Israel Adesanya, a former kickboxing star, first got his hands on UFC gold in 2019, when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum by decision to win the interim belt. In his next fight, he knocked out Robert Whittaker to claim the undisputed title. He then defended the title an stunning six times against high-level contenders. He ultimately lost the belt to Alex Pereira.

Adesanya reclaimed the title in a rematch with Pereira, but then lost the belt to Sean Strickland via decision. He was finished by Dricus Du Plessis and Nassourdine Imavov in his two most recent fights.

Usman claimed the welterweight title the same year Adesanya won gold at middleweight. He won the belt with a decision win over Tyron Woodley. Usman tallied one less title defense than Adesanya at five. He finally lost the belt to Leon Edwards in 2022. After losing a rematch to Edwards, he suffered a third-straight loss in a short-notice middleweight fight with Khamzat Chimaev. That was back in 2023, and he hasn’t fought since.

Adesanya is considered the second best middleweight in MMA history behind Anderson Silva. Usman, similarly, is considered the second best welterweight ever behind Silva’s contemporary, Georges St-Pierre.