Israel Adesanya is the UFC Middleweight champion once again and is one-all with arch nemesis Alex Pereira. And as fans wonder when “The Last Stylebender” will be seen in action next, Dana White provides a major update.
Adesanya squared off against Pereira in the main event of UFC 287. Having lost to “Poatan” earlier at UFC 281 and in total three times, counting their kickboxing history, Adesanya went into the fight with all his might, avenging the UFC 281 loss, as well as reinstating himself as the 185-pound champ.
In the wake of UFC 287, there have been calls for a trilogy fight between Adesanya and Pereira, but the Brazilian has been confirmed to be making a jump up to Light Heavyweight. In the meantime, as the MMA fandom wonders about Izzy’s next outing in the Octagon, Dana White revealed that the middleweight champ will return to action by the end of summer.
“This guy was already blowing Hunter and the boys up: ‘When’s my next fight? I want to fight again’,” said White during the UFC Kansas City post fight press conference. “Israel Adesanya wants to fight nonstop, constantly, and wants to fight everybody. We’re working on that, and he’ll fight again soon, probably by the end of summer.” [H/T MMA News]
Jan Blachowicz is ready to challenge Israel Adesanya’s middleweight throne
While White has not mentioned any possible opponent for Adesanya’s return, one of the leading contenders in the list of fighters is certainly Jan Blachowicz, the former Light Heavyweight champ who has recently stated that he is willing to come down to 185 for the rematch- and also Adesanya’s belt.
“If I won’t do this [cut to 185lbs] serious, I would not say it. I feel that I could do it, I can cut my weight and fight against him [Israel Adesanya] in his division. But we’ll see, you know, what he gonna say? If they want to do it or not, we will see,” Blachowicz said last week. “I prefer to stay in my weight but if they would give me this fight because you know this is title shot, fight against someone like Israel, very big motivation that way I could cut my weight and fight in middleweight.”
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