There was a bit of shock when Dana White announced that he wanted middleweight champ Israel Adesanya to square up against newly crowned light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz next. However the Last Stylebender has confirmed that this is the case.
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Adesanya would be facing off against either Robert Whittaker or Jon Jones next, given the way recent events have unfolded. However Dana White threw a curve ball at the fans when he announced over the weekend that he had other plans for the middleweight star. While he was choosing to have Izzy move up in weight, White explained that they want him to face champion Jan Blachowicz instead, in a champ-champ superfight.
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Israel Adesanya Confirms Light Heavyweight Move
With this announcement seeming to come out of nowhere, fans were waiting to hear from Israel Adesanya himself, to confirm that this is something that is happening. Speaking in a recent interview, the middleweight champ confirmed that this is the plan. If successful here, he thinks that this will propel him quickly into the GOAT conversation.
“I guess Dana broke the news, so yeah I’m going up to 205 and I’m going to snatch the 205 strap, respectfully,” Adesanya said. “(If I win) I’ll be that guy everyone keeps talking about. GOAT sh-t. For me, it’s more money, more notoriety, I get pushed more. I’m up there, like the legacy thing…I realized that I’m about to do something in literally under three year, that (Jon) Jones hasn’t done in over ten years.”
It is unclear when the UFC plans on booking Israel Adesanya to face Jan Blachowicz, but it is going to be an interesting fight to see play out. There is something to the idea that winning a second title does add a lot to Izzy’s legacy. Although it still seems premature to call him the GOAT, even at that point.
