I. Adesanya in victory for Ultimate. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC
The middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg.), Israel adesanya, surprised and stated that his first rival for 2020 should be Yoel romero. The Nigerian 'ruled out', at first, the fight against Paulo borrachinha and stated that he is negotiating for the confrontation against the Cuban to take place in the main fight of the UFC 248, on March 7, in Las Vegas (USA). The information was disclosed in an interview with 'ESPN'.
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“The fight is done. Do not make mistakes. I'm still working on it. I'm still preparing for my second title defense against a veteran in the game. A wrestling veteran and a tough son of a bitch. The 'bogeyman' of the category. The guy no one challenges,” Israel confessed.
Due to his unquestionable physical shape and ability to put pressure on all his opponents, Romero gained the reputation of being one of the most feared athletes in the middleweight division. With good performances against athletes like Chris Weidman, Ronaldo Jacare e Luke Rockhold, the 42-year-old athlete remains relevant within the organization.
“I have this first objective for 2020, which is Yoel (Romero). He will be the first, because I will defend my belt three times this year, at least. There are some battles being fought behind the scenes”, said the Nigerian.
Israel's idea is to be confirmed in UFC 248, which, to date, is headed by Weili Zhang and Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a fight valid for the strawweight title (up to 52,1kg.).
“I will be in it (in the UFC 248). Don't worry, we're working on it. There was this stop for Christmas, some people still had holidays. So, things paused a little, but the fight will happen, and on our terms. So, I'm happy and I have no doubt that I'll get what I want in this fight”, concluded Adesanya.
If the company does the champion's bidding, the fight postpones plans for Paulo borrachinha in exchanging forces against the rival. The Brazilian, who remains undefeated in his career and is coming off a victory over Romero himself, created, together with the champion, a rivalry in which a confrontation between the two became inevitable.
The Minas Gerais native, however, had his dream of competing for the belt interrupted by a biceps injury, which took him out of action at least until April. The clash between Adesanya and Romero would mean that the Brazilian could fight for the title around the middle of 2020.
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