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Israel Adesanya has captivated the imagination of the combat sports world with his marvelous display of striking skills against formerly undefeated UFC Middleweight KO artist Paulo Costa.
Costa, who faced Adesanya for the latter’s UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 253, was regarded by many as a fighter who could end Adesanya’s reign as the UFC’s 185-pound king.
The Brazilian striker, known for his aggressive fighting style, had knocked out multiple opponents en-route to the top of the UFC Middleweight division.
Nevertheless, Adesanya made short work of Costa, beating the latter from pillar to post before stopping him via TKO in round two of their fight.
Israel Adesanya gained a considerable amount of momentum with his one-sided win over Paulo Costa
In the aftermath of his spectacular victory over Paulo Costa, Israel Adesanya asserted that he’d be willing to move up to the Light Heavyweight division in the days to come.
Adesanya was at loggerheads with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones well before the former faced Costa. With Jones now having moved up to the Heavyweight division, Adesanya has noted that he has no qualms in potentially fighting in that division too.
Besides, Israel Adesanya has also expressed interest in fighting Jan Blachowicz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Blachowicz, who recently bested Dominick Reyes to win the vacant Light Heavyweight title, has echoed Adesanya’s sentiments and agreed to face him, should the latter ever end up moving to the Light Heavyweight division.
Furthermore, the vast majority of MMA fans and experts believe that the likeliest fighter Adesanya could compete against next is the winner of the upcoming UFC 254 matchup between Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.
Israel Adesanya has a lot of potential opponents, according to Dana White
Speaking at a recent media scrum (quotes courtesy: MMA Junkie), UFC President Dana White addressed Israel Adesanya’s potential future opponents and the myriad of options he currently has at his disposal.
White noted that potential superfights featuring Israel Adesanya against Jan Blachowicz or Jon Jones wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.
Furthermore, White addressed the upcoming Whittaker vs. Cannonier matchup and its implications as regards to Adesanya.
“I truly think that the winner of Cannonier and Whittaker should get the next shot. He said he would fight Cannonier. He already beat Whittaker. Whittaker, if he wins, makes a lot of sense, too.
“It’s a great problem to have. The winner of this fight should absolutely get the shot. You could look at the Blachowicz fight and say, ‘Oh, that’s fun, too.’ Jon Jones is fun. He’s got a lot of options.” (*H/T MMA Junkie for the quotes)
Which fighter would you like to see Israel Adesanya face next? Sound off in the comments.
