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Israel Adesanya may have fallen short in his attempt to capture the light heavyweight title at UFC 259, but the Kiwi still stands atop the UFC middleweight division. There are many possible matchups awaiting 'The Last Stylebender' in the 185-pound weight class.
Eugene Bareman, head coach at City Kickboxing, has confirmed that Israel Adesanya will be heading back to 185lbs to defend his middleweight gold. However, the Nigeria-born fighter hasn't ruled out a return to light heavyweight in the future.
"I'm sure he is keen to get back to middleweight and look after his division there... I'm sure that he'll want to come back and have another crack at this...he said to me let's go back down to middleweight and clear that out ", said Bareman in an interview with ESPN.
Three potential opponents for israel Adesanya
With that said, let's have a look at the three fighters who have a chance at standing opposite Israel Adesanya next.
#3 Marvin Vettori
With a lopsided victory over Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 23, Marvin Vettori has made a strong case for a rematch with Israel Adesanya. The last time Vettori locked horns with Adesanya was at UFC on Fox 29 back in 2018.
'The Italian Dream' put Adesanya's striking approach to the test with his patented wrestling. However, ultimately 'The Last Stylebender' was declared victorious via a split decision.
Since their first meeting, Vettori is undefeated. The surging contender extended his winning streak to five and called out Israel Adesanya in his post-fight interview on Saturday:
"I think I deserve it. I have the biggest, the longest win streak right now and other people were supposed to show up, they didn't. And now I'm on a win streak, like I said, I've put on winning performances, dominant performances."
#2 Derek Brunson
Derek Brunson has successfully stopped rising up-and-comers in his last four UFC outings. The UFC veteran's most recent victory came at UFC Vegas 22 against Kevin Holland. Brunson implemented his NCAA Division-1 wrestling acumen to stop 'Trail Blazer' in his tracks and cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
It wouldn't be outlandish for the promotion to pair Derek Brunson against Israel Adesnaya again. Considering the 37-year-old's last defeat came at the hands of the champion himself at UFC 230, Brunson has only been beaten by elite fighters and might be inches away from getting a title shot.
However, judging by his callouts on Twitter, it appears Brunson wants to fight Paulo Costa first.
#1 Robert Whittaker
Since his loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243, Robert Whittaker has accumulated a two-fight winning streak. The former undisputed champion had the opportunity to face Israel Adesanya after his last victory.
At UFC 254, the Australian comfortably beat Jared Cannonier, who was called out by Adesanya at UFC 253. Whittaker rocked Cannonier multiple times and ultimately claimed the decision victory.
But strangely enough, Whittaker apparently refused a rematch with Israel Adesanya at the time. The Reaper is now set to take on Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24 on April 17. If victorious, Robert Whittaker certainly deserves to battle it out with Israel Adesanya again.
