Dana White Talks Israel Adesanya’s Next Fight
Israel Adesanya was expected to face Paulo Costa in his first UFC title defense. However, Dana White says this is not going to be the fight that happens next.
Adesanya took the belt from Robert Whittaker in a star-making performance at UFC 243. Following that fight, he called out rival, and top contender Paulo Costa. Costa was fresh off a win over Yoel Romero, and has been going back and forth with Israel. Therefore, it made sense for that to be his next fight.
However, it was recently announced that Paulo Costa was injured, and unable to fight. Therefore UFC President Dana White was forced to find another option for Adesanya. Speaking with The Schmo, White broke down the situation a little bit more.
“Costa had surgery on his bicep so he’s out for eight months, but we are working on something else with Israel right now.”
The thought that the “something else” was a superfight with Jon Jones was discussed. This is a bout that has been talked about since before Adesanya was champ. Nevertheless, this is not of interest to White right now.
“[Adesanya] just won the title, to do a Jones super fight right now doesn’t make sense, there are guys in his own weight division that he can fight.”
This leaves very few options for another opponent for Israel Adesanya. Perhaps Dana White is looking to the UFC 244 co-main event between Kelvin Gastelum and Darren Till. The winner of that fight, provided they are relatively unscathed, could very well be next in line.
