LeBron vs. MJ? UFC 234 Fight Against Anderson Silva Similar, Adesanya Feels

The world may not get to see LeBron James face off with Michael Jordan, but they'll get to see something similar at UFC 234, according to Israel Adesanya (15-0).

Although not official yet, it is expected that the undefeated 29-year-old Adesanya will take on former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, 43, at the event which takes place Feb. 10 in Melbourne, Australia.

Adesanya is fresh off an impressive TKO victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 230 earlier this month and could have been next in line for a title shot. However, he will now be facing his idol in Silva, and the Nigeria native believes it's a huge moment in his MMA story.

“When my movie of my life comes out, this is going to be a f-----g pivotal moment,” Adesanya said on The MMA Hour. “This is going to be that moment like ‘Who writes this s--t?’ I mean seriously, I get to f-----g beat the guy that actually put me on in the game. So it’s the perfect story."

"It’s a perfect storybook ending for him as well because after this fight, I mean, he’s done what he’s done so he can he can let me handle it. He’s been the greatest middleweight champion of all time. But I’ll take it from here. I’ll take the torch by force if I have to,” he said.

Silva (34-8-1) is regarded by many as the greatest of all time, however, he has considerably slowed down in recent years and hasn't fought since February last year when he controversially won a decision against Brunson at UFC 208. That fight is his only win in his last six fights since 2013.

But that doesn't mean Adesanya, whose style has been likened to "The Spider", will underestimate him. But nor will he overestimate him either.

“I know I’m going beat him and I have to beat him," he explained. "But, I’m not overestimating him and I’m not underestimating him. I just have to go in and do my job. I’ve said it, just because I’m a fan doesn’t mean you can’t catch these hands. Just because I’m a fan doesn’t mean I won’t put it on him."

"I’m not going to be like [Georges St-Pierre] when he first faced Matt Hughes. You know GSP was looking down and he admitted he was scared and he wasn’t worthy of being in there. That’s how he felt. This is not that. This is not that story. I’m coming in there to kill him, I’m coming in to destroy him,” he said.

When Silva was in the midst of the longest win streak in UFC history (16), he notably claimed only a clone of himself could be a worthy challenge for him.

Adesanya feels he's better than a clone as he's "studied every single thing" about the Brazilian. It is also why he holds this fight in much higher regard than possibly challenging for the middleweight title.

“This means more to me than the f-----g world title,” Adesanya added. “I’m getting choked up even right now even thinking about it. Like honestly, this f-----g means the world to me. UFC 90 was the first time I watched this guy fight live. Before that I was watching him on DVDs f-----g murking dudes. This is like LeBron James getting to face Michael Jordan."

“So this means more to me than any f-----g shiny belt. Like, I can kill this guy and then I can be like ‘I’ve done what I came here to do. I’m done.’ But, I’m not done. After this, I’ll go on to do other things. Yeah, the belt comes with it. But I’ll carry on the legacy of the other avatars in this game,” he said.