Israel Adesanya praises dancing ability of late fighter Ryan Jimmo

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is known as one of MMA’s greatest dancers but he says that the late Ryan Jimmo was the best dancer in UFC history.

Many consider Adesanya to be a fantastic dancer by MMA standards, and his elaborate walkouts and victory celebrations are something that fans routinely look forward to. According to Adesanya, however, he’s not even the best dancer the UFC has ever seen. The middleweight champ says that distinction should go to the late Jimmo, who was murdered in 2016 in a hit-and-run incident in Edmonton.

Check out what Adesanya told the media in Las Vegas prior to UFC 248 about Jimmo (via Fight Network).

“I’m just a kid who likes to have fun. Just because I said I like to dance, some people think, ‘Oh, he thinks he’s the man at dancing.’ I am the man at dancing, but I never said I’m the greatest. Ryan Jimmo, he was pretty good, I liked his style, he was the man. I never really got to meet him. I never really got to see his style completely,” Adesanya said.

Jimmo fought in the UFC between 2012 and 2015, going 3-4 inside the Octagon including a memorable seven-second KO over Anthony Perosh at UFC 249 in Calgary. After the fight, Jimmo did ‘the robot,’ which to this day is still one of the greatest post-victory celebrations MMA has ever seen.

#RIP Ryan Jimmo. pic.twitter.com/LBr28MwnZW

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 27, 2016

Tragically, Jimmo’s life was cut short at age 34 when Anthony Getschel ran Jimmo over in a parking lot following a verbal altercation, killing him. Getschel is currently serving eight years in a Canadian prison for his cowardly act.

Even though Jimmo is gone, his legacy lives on as one of the best dancers the MMA world has ever seen, with him being praised by the superstar Adesanya years after his death for his incredible dance moves. Rest in peace, Ryan Jimmo.

Do you agree with Israel Adesanya that Ryan Jimmo is the best dancer in UFC history?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/6/2020.