Jan Blachowicz wanted to face Israel Adesanya after he captured the UFC light heavyweight championship and now he will get his wish. UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the Adesanya fight will happen despite Glover Teixeira defeating Thiago Santos in November.
Adesanya was hoping to face Jarod Cannonier if he was able to get past Robert Whittaker at UFC 254. However, Whittaker defeated Cannonier, putting a wrinkle in Izzy’s plans. Now that the Middleweight division has yet to produce a contender that Adesanya has yet to defeat, it raised the question of who Adesanya should fight next.
Dana White Confirms Adesanya and Blachowicz
Recently, Dana White spoke about the matchup. During the conversation with BT Sport, Dana confirmed that Jan will fight Israel in a light heavyweight showdown.
“Yeah, I think that (Adesanya and Blachowicz) both like the idea. I love it,” White said, confirming that Adesanya would get the next title shot at 205lbs over Teixeira.
Change of Plans
A long time rivalry with Jon Jones made fans assume that Adesanya would move up to the light heavyweight division anyway. But, now that Jones has vacated the light heavyweight title with heavyweight title aspirations, the move yet again put a halt to plans.
Now that Jan is champion, Adesanya could be on the quest for double champion status. At least until middleweight produces a legitimate contender.
Dana seems to have big plans for Adesanya in the upcoming year. White is hoping to finally make a fight between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya in 2021.
The matchup is one of the most anticipated in the sport and many fans thought it would happen much further down the line. But when Dana was asked what fight he would like to see next year, it was the matchup he was most excited about to book.
