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Israel Adesanya made it clear that after UFC 253, he has his sights set on defending the Middleweight Championship against Jared Cannonier.
Jared Cannonier has to get through the former Champion Robert Whittaker to get a title shot, and even then, there's no guarantee that he'll come out unscathed and won't have a long recovery period.
Speaking to Submission Radio (H/T MMA Fighting), Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman said that if Jared Cannonier doesn't return quick enough, Israel Adesanya could have different plans. He said that they even spoke about it:
“If Cannonier didn’t want to turn around and fight, then Israel would definitely fight at 205,” Bareman said. “We’ve already had a little chat about that. He would be perfectly willing to do that. So much is just dependent on those results in the middleweight division."
A move to 205-pounds might be on the cards for Israel Adesanya, according to his coach:
“But yeah, if Cannonier wanted to wait longer because he didn’t want to turn around things really quickly, then maybe Israel can go to 205.”
If Israel Adesanya were to go to the Light Heavyweight division, then a fight against Champion Jan Blachowicz could be on the cards. The Polish Light Heavyweight Champion expressed his interest in facing Israel Adesanya, and the sentiment was shared by the Kiwi Champion.
Is a Light Heavyweight move realistic for Israel Adesanya next?
The entire premise of Israel Adesanya moving to the Light Heavyweight division had excitement around it because there was the potential of a fight against Jon Jones. Now that Jon Jones has moved to Heavyweight, Jan Blachowicz has taken the throne and could be a potential opponent for Israel Adesanya.
However, Jared Cannonier could potentially be next for him, while the winner of Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira in November appears to be a #1 contender's fight as well.
It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. One thing which cannot be denied is that Israel Adesanya is an incredibly active fighter.
