Israel Adesanya: On The Edge of Greatness

 

Israel 'The Last Stylebender' Adesanya has the chance to cement himself as an MMA great at UFC 259. An opportunity for Champ Champ status awaits the UFC Middleweight champion should he defeat Light-Heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. With an undefeated record of 20-0 that contains the scalps of the toughest middleweights on the planet, Adesanya sets his sights on being the first Middleweight double champ and looks to claim the 205 pound strap this Saturday.

Adesanya was injected into the Light-Heavyweight title picture after UFC 253, where he defeated Paulo Costa and Blachowicz snatched the vacant Light-Heavyweight title from Dominick Reyes. Adesanya has been chasing a fight with former Light-Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and victory at UFC 259 could be the perfect platform to get his wish. Despite Jones' move to Heavyweight, Adesanya has made his intentions clear to follow Jones wherever he goes. Will we see Stylebender make a move to Heavyweight in the future? We will have to wait and see.

There is certainly still intrigue in Adesanya fighting at Middleweight. In an interview with Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie, Adesanya stated: "I'll definitely go back down to 185. I have something else in my head that might interest (me after). But definitely going back down to 185 is my goal. I want to keep my division moving". The immediate opportunities at Middleweight for Adesanya would be a rematch with either Robert Whittaker, who he won the belt from, or against Paulo Costa who Adesanya defeated at UFC 253. Stylebender has also expressed a desire to fight Darren Till in the future, but Till may well be 2-3 fights away from a title shot, and who knows where Adesanya will be at that time? He may well have moved up to Heavyweight for a scrap with Jones.

Should Adesanya defeat Blachowicz, he will face stern opposition at Light-Heavyweight. His first test would be against UFC veteran Glover Teixeira, who has had a career resurgence of late. Both Adesanya and Blachowicz will be keeping a keen eye on the opening bout of UFC 259, which sees Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic face off. Santos, a former title challenger will be looking to rebound from his loss to Teixeira, whereas Rakic will look to build on his impressive resume with victory here. 

The UFC 259 main event is set for fireworks! Adesanya will look to join the illustrious list of UFC double champs, that include the likes of Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo. In his way, a striking powerhouse who cannot be overlooked, and who will do everything in his power to ensure that the path to Light-Heavyweight gold goes through Poland. In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes will look to retain her Featherweight title against rising contender Megan Anderson. But before that we have a grudge match between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling for the Bantamweight title! 

UFC 259 is loaded from top to bottom! Do not miss out on this one!

~ James Eakin 

References:

MMAJunkie interview available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPpZwwFi0ec [Accessed March '21].

Image credits: [Centre] "Israel Adesanya rips Paulo Costa for 'hangover' excuse, offers advice to rival", Mike Bohn. Available at: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/03/ufc-news-israel-adesanya-responds-paulo-costa-hangover-wine-excuse-offers-advice-rematch