UFC president Dana White has compared Kiwi Israel Adesanya's star power to two of the biggest names in mixed martial arts history.
'The Last Stylebender' made his Octagon debut in February 2018 and in just six fights, he has propelled himself into an undisputed middleweight title shot.
Adesanya fights NZ-born Australian Robert Whittaker at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Sunday - a win will likely make him one of the biggest stars in UFC history.
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White told Newshub that Adesanya was already in elite company.
"This kid exploded onto the scene and from the minute I met him, I knew this kid could be a star," White noted. "His rise is very Conor McGregor-ish and even Ronda Rousey.
"They came in and their style of fighting was good, they started fighting legitimate people quick and rose to the top very fast
"It's very similar."
Adesanya won the interim middleweight title earlier this year, defeating Mexican-American Kelvin Gastelum in a fight-of-the-year candidate.
That victory lifted the Nigerian-born striker to a perfect 17-0 career record, including UFC wins over Gastelum, Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares and Octagon legend Anderson Silva.
By comparison, Whittaker has fought once, since claiming middleweight gold in July 2017.
The Australian was struck down with a hernia on the morning of a scheduled title defence against Gastelum in February, but White has cautioned New Zealand fight fans to not underestimate the skills of 'The Reaper'.
"Here is a guy who is undefeated at that weight class," White said. "He's got KO power in both hands and he's got unbelievable wrestling.
"If he [Adesanya] can get past Whittaker, the sky's the limit."
UFC 243 is expected to draw the largest crowd in company history, with 60,000 expected to attend the event.
But White said the pull of Adesanya's star power and Whittaker's reputation as one of the most 'must-watch' fighters in the world made the fight just as big around the combat sports world.
"The fact we can sellout the stadium is ridiculous," said White. "It's unbelievable the level of sports fan that exists over there.
"This is massive. This is the biggest fight we've ever done - it's going to break all records.
"It's a big deal, it's a big moment for us. Everybody always asks me about the monumental moments that have happened in the UFC - this is one of them."
Newshub reported on Tuesday that a win for Adesanya could see the UFC machine roll into New Zealand on the 28-year-old's shoulders.
White said a big event in front of Adesanya's home fans wasn't out of the question and he already had an opponent lined up - undefeated Brazilian power puncher Paulo Costa.
"Depending on how the fights go this weekend, but yes, in a perfect world, where everything makes sense this weekend, I could see him [Costa] fighting the winner."
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