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Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya is now on top of the UFC Middleweight Division after dethroning Robert Whittaker and unifying the 185-pound Championship. While his originally targeted challenger was the Brazillian Paulo Costa, that fight has been delayed due to Costa suffering an injury that will put him out for an estimated 7-8 months.
Until then, Adesanya has been calling out to face a man who many consider the scariest in the division - Yoel Romero. Although Costa beat Romero and the Cuban has lost 3 out of his last 4 (including two losses to Whittaker), the Kiwi Champion has been praised for his willingness to take on all comers and silence the doubters.
When a fan on Twitter brought up the idea of an immediate rematch with Robert Whittaker, Stylebender immediately shut it down, saying:
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“F**k no. He gotta earn that one. Back of the line it is mate.”
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In all fairness to the Australian former Champion, he has been very graceful about his defeat and hasn't once requested a rematch against Adesanya. All he said after the fight was that he's still around and isn't going anywhere.
Whittaker was recently challenged by the Middleweight newcomer Darren Till, who requested a fight against him at UFC London (March 21st, 2020). Whittaker responded, accepting the challenge. Since both men want that fight, that looks to be the one they'll make.
Whittaker was full of praise for Darren Till's Middleweight debut against Kelvin Gastelum, calling his performance "beautiful". With Adesanya vs Romero and Till vs Whittaker being the fights to make, the Middleweight division is shaping up to be the most exciting weight class in UFC next year.
The only question is as to where Jared Cannonier fits into all of this. The Killa Gorilla entered the Top 5 (#4 rank) after his spectacular knockout over Jack Hermansson and many believe he's a win away from a title shot. Had it not been for Costa's injury, one would imagine that Cannonier vs Romero would be the fight UFC would have made.
