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Reigning UFC middleweight champion, Israel 'The Last Stylebender' Adesanya promised to become an active champion once he captured the gold and by the looks of it, that is exactly what he is going to be.
Less than a month from his night of glory at UFC 243 held inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, the Nigerian born New Zealander is already looking towards his first title defense.
Adesanya in talks with UFC for first title defense
In an interview with The Schmo, UFC President Dana White confirmed that the promotion has been working on a deal with Adesanya for his next fight, and contrary to popular opinion, it will not be against his newly made foe, Paulo Costa as Costa is currently recuperating from a surgery and neither the UFC nor Adesanya are keen to wait till Costa heals completely. (h/t MMA Junkie)
He had surgery on his bicep, so he’s out for eight months, but we are working on something else with Israel right now.
A match-up between Adesanya and Costa seemed inevitable as the pair shared a heated exchange right after the former knocked out then champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. Adesanya even climbed up the cage and flipped Costa off, taunting him.
With Costa out of action, Adesanya's next opponent is the subject of wild speculation in the MMA community, with many believing it could be UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon 'Bones' Jones, given their multiple back and forth exchanges on social media platforms.
However, White was quick to rubbish any rumors of the pair locking horns in the near future.
He just won the title, and to do a Jones superfight right now doesn’t make sense. There are guys in his own weight division that he could fight.
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