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UFC president Dana White revealed on Saturday night that UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya would be moving up in weight for his next fight in an attempt to dethrone newly crowned light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
ESPN Brett Okamoto reported, “Dana White tells me he met with Israel Adesanya yesterday and his next fight will definitely be a move up in weight to challenge Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight.”
Dana White tells me he met with Israel Adesanya yesterday and his next fight will definitely be a move up in weight to challenge Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight.
Adesanya vs. Blachowicz is a superfight between two reigning UFC champions.
Adesanya Attempting To Make History
With the stunning move, Adesanya, 31, will attempt to become just the fifth fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold two UFC championships at the same time.
The current list of UFC “champ champ” fighters includes Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.
Additionally, Adesanya will attempt to become just the eighth fighter in company history to win titles in more than one weight class. That list features the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier, among others.
Adesanya vs. Blachowicz is an intriguing and dangerous fight for both of the UFC champions. The date and location of the fight have yet to be determined.
Surprise Superfight Could Lead To Another
Adesanya vs. Blachowicz is a surprise superfight that could lead to an even bigger showdown later down the line.
Adesanya (20-0) picked up the middleweight title from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in October 2019. He defended his belt twice against top contenders Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa, but now hopes to secure another hefty piece of UFC gold from Blachowicz in a new division.
Meanwhile, Blachowicz (27-8) just became the UFC’s 205-pound champ by defeating Dominick Reyes for the vacant title at UFC 253. That was the Polish powerhouse’s fourth win in a row over standout competitors. Blachowicz had previously defeated Corey Anderson, Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold, so he’s on a roll right now.
Of course, Blachowicz and Reyes just met for the title that was long held by UFC superstar Jon Jones. The 32-year-old American vacated the UFC light heavyweight championship earlier this year in hopes of landing a superfight in the heavyweight division.
But Jones and Adesanya have been engulfed in an epic war of words as of late online, and some believe that back-and-forth battle might someday turn into its own superfight.
A win by Adesanya over Blachowicz would go a long way toward making the Jones vs. Adesanya superfight a reality. To that end, Adesanya said he hopes to fight “the supposed GOAT” next year in the “biggest fight in UFC history”.
Israel Adesanya reiterated his plan to fight “the supposed GOAT” Jon Jones in 2021 👀
Blachowicz has also expressed interest in facing Jones.
Jones Focused on Heavyweight Division
Although fans would love a superfight between Jones and Adesanya, Jones appears to be solely focused on the heavyweight division for the time being.
When Jones first moved up in weight, dream fights were touted as legit possibilities for the UFC superstar with opponents that included current UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou and former UFC legend Brock Lesnar.
The UFC has yet to make any moves regarding Jones in his new weight class.
For now, Jones waits with the rest of us to find out about his next fight.
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