'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Israel Adesanya is one of the most active champions in the UFC.
Since becoming the undisputed middleweight champion in October 2019, he has defended it three times against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. He has also fought once against Jan Blachowicz in the meantime, challenging for the light heavyweight belt.
However, the current pandemic situation has made it difficult for fighters from abroad to compete as frequently as they would like to.
In an interview with It's Time for Sports, Israel Adesanya's coach and City Kickboxing trainer Eugene Bareman opened up about the possibility of 'The Last Stylebender' competing once again this year.
Bareman stated that due to the COVID-19 voucher system put in place by the government of New Zealand, Israel Adesanya will not be able to fly out to the USA again this year.
The CKB team has already flown out of NZ with Israel Adesanya twice this year - first for UFC 259 and then for UFC 263:
"The one thing that is looking very unlikely is for us to be able to get a voucher to get back into this country this year. That is like the ultimately the crux of the problem, not the opponent. We don't care about the opponent," Eugene Bareman said.
Bareman also turned down the rumor that Israel Adesanya was scheduled to face Robert Whittaker in a title rematch in November in New York:
"No. No, that's not completely accurate. I think nothing came over, nothing relaly came past me about anything official being named for New York or Robert Whittake or anything. No utterances from any official source that that was gonna happen. I did notice that there were some articles about Robert being the next fight, but... he might be. I don't know who the next opponent is."
Eugene Bareman believes there might be a better middleweight contender to challenge Israel Adesanya than Robert Whittaker
Eugene Bareman went on to state that Israel Adesanya's absence from the octagon for the rest of the year could prove costly for Robert Whittaker. This is especially the case since he allegedly turned down an earlier rematch due to having issues with the timeline:
"I've already said this, as far as I'm concerned, Robert is competing with everybody else for that spot. But we cannot get into the country again this year, so it has to be pushed back to next year. And unfortunately for Robert and his team, that puts them in a really unfortunate predicament, because in between all of that happening, someone else might put up their hand and be a much better, more kind of delectable fighter. Like imagine if Darren Till got two wins, then Robert, you're getting shifted back my friend. That's the risk that he took when he said no to that other fight that he should have taken."
Eugene Bareman also asserted that the UFC does not need to create an interim middleweight title at the moment.
Watch the full interview below:
