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UFC 259 saw one of the biggest main events in recent history. UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya failed in his quest to become a double champion after being defeated by UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jan Blachowicz.
With his venture into the UFC Light Heavyweight division now over, what – or who – is next for Israel Adesanya?
The most likely answer is that ‘The Last Stylebender’ will return to 185lbs and keep defending his UFC Middleweight title. But with so many opponents already defeated, who will be next for him?
Here are five potential opponents who could be next for Israel Adesanya.
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#5 Darren Till (UFC record: 6-3-1)
Before his move up to 205lbs to face Jan Blachowicz, there was definitely an argument to suggest that Israel Adesanya had cleaned out the UFC’s Middleweight division.
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‘The Last Stylebender’ took the UFC Middleweight crown from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243, and 2020 saw him defend it successfully against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.
However, it seems that Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman has identified a potential threat to his pupil in the form of Darren Till.
‘The Gorilla’ was last seen in a losing effort against Whittaker last summer and is currently booked to face Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night 188 in April.
Given his loss to Whittaker, it seems hard to argue that Till would offer much of a threat to Adesanya.
However, the Liverpool, England native is a highly credentialed kickboxer and a major threat inside the clinch.
In his Welterweight win over Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in 2018, Till showed that he’s also capable of fighting a patient, tactical fight that could give Adesanya a challenge.
The fact that ‘The Gorilla’ has been named by Bareman suggests that the UFC champ has his eyes on him. With a win over Vettori, this fight could be booked for late 2021.
#4 Marvin Vettori (UFC record: 6-2-1)
Given that Israel Adesanya’s coach has identified Darren Till as a potential future opponent, it surely stands to reason that Till’s next foe, Marvin Vettori, will also be considered.
‘The Italian Dream’ is a particularly interesting potential opponent for Adesanya due to the two's prior history.
They faced off in 2018 in Adesanya’s second UFC fight. Surprisingly enough, Vettori pushed ‘The Last Stylebender’ to the limit.
He was able to win the first round of their fight by outworking Adesanya in the clinch. While Adesanya did come back to win – largely outstriking the Italian – it was not the most impressive showing of his career.
More to the point, Vettori has improved dramatically since that fight.
He’s a better submission artist now. His striking has also improved dramatically, as have his takedowns.
If he was able to push Adesanya to the limit before, could he do the same again? If ‘The Italian Dream’ can beat Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 188, we may well get a chance to find out.
#3 Robert Whittaker (UFC record: 13-3)
There’s an argument to suggest that Robert Whittaker stands the best chance of defeating Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight title.
Adesanya famously knocked Whittaker out to end his title reign back in October 2018.
However, it’s worth noting that ‘The Reaper’, who has a history of serious injuries, hadn’t fought for well over a year prior to that bout.
Whittaker’s detractors would suggest that he made a serious error in being too aggressive in the fight, basically playing into Adesanya’s hands.
However, he’s shown improvements in both his striking and his patience since, and picked up two wins in 2020 – outpointing both Darren Till and Jared Cannonier.
Whittaker is expected to face fellow Adesanya victim Paulo Costa next, likely in April.
If he can defeat ‘The Eraser’, the UFC could easily book a rematch between their two biggest Oceania-based fighters.
If UFC are able to take a show Down Under in the near future, it’d make sense to main event it with this potentially huge rematch.
#2 Kevin Holland (UFC record: 8-2)
One of the UFC’s most surprising success stories of 2020 was Middleweight contender Kevin Holland.
‘The Trailblazer’ wasn’t on anyone’s radar initially, but became one of the few UFC fighters to make the most of the strange, COVID-19-affected year.
Holland managed to fight five times in 2020, winning all of his visits to the octagon.
Most impressively, ‘The Trailblazer’ was able to finish four of his opponents, with two of those knockouts – over Charlie Ontiveros and ‘Jacare’ Souza – being among the best of the year.
Holland’s win over Souza was his first in the UFC over a real elite-level opponent, and it’s put him in line for a shot against another top ten fighter, Derek Brunson, later this month.
Brunson has acted as a gatekeeper to title contention before. In fact, he was knocked out by Israel Adesanya during his rise to the top of the division.
If Holland can take out Brunson in impressive fashion – picking up his sixth win in a row – then it’d be hard to deny his title potential.
Given that his penchant for fighting anyone at any time has put him into the UFC’s good books, it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see them reward him with a shot at the UFC Middleweight title in late 2021.
#1 Colby Covington (UFC record: 11-2)
Considering Eugene Bareman’s opinion that only Darren Till and Robert Whittaker pose any challenge to Israel Adesanya, what would happen if both men were to lose their upcoming fights?
The likely answer is that the UFC would look to a fighter like Kevin Holland or Marvin Vettori to challenge ‘The Last Stylebender’.
However, there’s always the off chance that they would think outside the box and instead hand the shot to former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington.
In many ways, this fight might make sense, too.
‘Chaos’ has an impressive UFC record of 11-2, but his loss to UFC Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman seems to have knocked him out of title contention for the time being.
However, he still remains one of the UFC’s most visible personalities thanks to his outspoken nature.
And with his phenomenal wrestling game and incredible cardio, he’d offer a threat to Adesanya that we haven’t really seen him faced with just yet.
The fact that this fight would likely sell more pay-per-views than Adesanya vs. Holland or Vettori might also tempt the UFC.
For the time being this one’s a long shot, but there’s no denying that we’ve seen stranger things in the past.
