"I'll lap the division again" - Israel Adesanya talks about his future if he wins fight against Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya is extremely confident ahead of his title defense against Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281.

While speaking to the media during his UFC 281 media day, Adesanya was asked about his future at 185 lbs. He has defeated top contenders like Marvin Vettori and former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker twice, as well as top contenders like Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and Jared Cannonier. With that said, he mentioned that he plans on defeating the top contenders again:

“I’ll lap the division again and then I’ll back up at some point just for my own…maybe a little bit of ego, but yeah, just because I can do it.”

If 'Izzy' retains the middleweight title after beating ‘Poatan’ and with the state of the division at the moment with no clear No.1 contender, he has opened the doors to make another move to 205 lbs. When asked about the possibility of accepting non-title fights at light heavyweight, he added that he would entertain the idea:

“It doesn’t have to be for the belt. Right now, other Paradigm [Sports] guy has the belt, Jiri's [Prochazka] got the belt, so let him do his thing. I just like testing myself. Again, there’s heavyweight. I’m not saying I can beat every 205 guy or every f*****g heavyweight, but they’ll have problems with me. And yeah, there’ll be times when Eugene might say, ‘Take that guy out.’ And I might say, ‘Who, what, alright, bet.’ And I’ll take them out.”

Check out the full pre-fight media availability:

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Possible opponents for Israel Adesanya at light heavyweight?

Of course, the best possible matchup for Israel Adesanya at 205 lbs would be against UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka. Both are incredible strikers, and their respective fighting styles would make for an appealing fight on pay-per-view.

Former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes, who makes his return to the octagon this weekend after a long layoff, could be logical as well if he snaps his three-fight losing skid in impressive fashion.

If Adesanya avenges his kickboxing losses to Pereira, perhaps he'll pursue a rematch against former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. They last fought at UFC 259 in 2021, which saw Blachowicz retain his title via unanimous decision and the middleweight champion suffering his first and only career loss in MMA.