UFC President Dana White seems to have tickled the curiosity bone of MMA fans. Using the fewest words possible and without giving any names, the 53-year-old promoter teased fans about the next matchup for middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
‘The Last Stylebender,’ who last competed at UFC 287 avenged his MMA loss to Alex Pereira in the main event of the night. The Nigerian-born Kiwi KO’ed ‘Poatan’ to regain the strap he has held since 2019. Since that fight, speculations never stopped about his next possible opponent. UFC 293 will hold a major PPV event in Sydney. And what better fighter to headline the event than Israel Adesanya?
At the UFC Vegas 73 presser, Dana appeared in front of journalists to answer any queries they had regarding the night and more. At one point, a reporter touched upon the scheduled fight between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis.
I asked about the possible 2 month turnaround for Whittaker/Du Plessis against Izzy for UFC 293 – and Dana teased an announcement pic.twitter.com/xdpS4RC9Jv
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) May 21, 2023
Since the two are slated to lock horns during International fight week, a quick turnaround time might not be all that possible for the emerging winner. “Are you thinking about that?” asked the reporter, insinuating Israel fighting the winner of the said bout.
Dana White mentioned that the promotion will release an announcement about Adesanya’s opponent, potentially for UFC 293. Accompanied by his signature smirk and smile, White said, “We will make that announcement soon.”
This has now left the MMA world in the dark about the possible name that will face Adesanya. With little to no information, all that the fans and critics can do at present is speculate.
Who will Israel Adesanya fight next?
The biggest fight in the middleweight division at present is happening between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. Both men have seemingly earned their way to a title shot. Whoever secures a victory will no doubt face the reigning champion Israel Adesanya. However, scheduling issues are in the way.
Having Alexander Volkanovski already booked, Israel Adesanya is the most obvious choice for the UFC’s September headliner in Sydney. But who could he face next? One thing the promotion can do is pray that the winner of Whittaker vs Dricus comes out healthy and ready to go again.
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Almost every top 10 middleweight contender is booked with a fight. The ones that aren’t booked (Derek Brunson, Roman Dolidze, and Jack Hermansson) are coming off losses. Marvin Vettori will face Jared Cannonier in June, while Paolo Costa takes on Ikram Aliskerov in July.
A strong option that seems suitable in the present timeline would be the light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill. For newer fans, ‘Izzy’ has had a failed attempt at the higher weight class prior to this when he faced then-champion Jan Blachowicz. Jan will be facing Alex Pereira at UFC 291. A matchup between Adesanya and the winner of the said bout would be a fun one, considering the history that Adesanya shares with both ‘Poatan’ and Blachowicz. But this is if and when Adesanya wins against Hill.
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Another matchup that intrigues fans the most would come against Khamzat Chimaev. The Russian is rumored to appear on the UFC’s Abu Dhabi card in October, but an opponent was never announced. While Chimaev hasn’t supposedly done enough to earn a shot at the middleweight gold, fans wouldn’t complain seeing him showcase his grappling skills against ‘Izzy.’