Israel Adesanya Stars As UFC Release 'Best Faceoffs Of 2020' Video

How good is a staredown?

There's something quite unique about seeing two fighter staring into each other's souls just days before they're set to go toe-to-toe inside an octagon.

Besides the bout itself, it's one of the many reasons why sports fans are so madly in love with mixed martial arts.

And throughout the years, we've seen some truly epic faceoffs between some of the biggest and baddest stars the UFC has to offer.

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Most recently, the best staredown that comes to mind was between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk ahead of their strawweight title fight at UFC 248.

But in terms of who is the best at it, a few names could lay claim to that accolade: Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping, Nate Diaz, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Chael Sonnen and even Clay Guida.

But if you're picking the most legendary staredown of all-time, there's only one winner.

Arguably the most scary and iconic came between two MMA greats in Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop during their PRIDE FC days.

I mean, you wouldn't fancy being UFC president Dana White in that situation having to stop the pair from literally coming to blows.

But if you thought a global pandemic and strict social distancing regulations was going to bring the age-old staredowns tradition to a grinding halt in 2020, then you were very wrong.

Last year we were lucky enough to witness some classic faceoffs and to pay tribute to them the UFC release a four-minute-long highlight package showing the very best.

And there's a couple of familiar New Zealander faces who made the cut too.

Check out the awesome video below...

Topics: New Zealand, MMA News, UFC, Australia, MMA, Dana White, , YouTube, Israel Adesanya

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry