Adesanya reveals bold title solution

There are a couple of different scenarios surrounding Israel Adesanya’s next fight but either way, it appears certain there will be a title involved.

The Kiwi middleweight star capped off a phenomenal first 12 months in the UFC on Sunday, winning the No 1 contender position with a unanimous decision victory over all-time great Anderson Silva at UFC 234 in Melbourne.

In doing so, Adesanya earned the right to meet the winner of champion Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum for the crown. However, Whittaker’s late scratching from his title defence due to a freak abdominal injury threatens to put the division on hold.

Early indications are that Whittaker faces a four- to sixweek recovery period, and UFC president Dana White took a wait-and-see approach regarding the title picture at his post-fight press conference.

The promise of a title shot for ‘The Last Stylebender’ was always part of the deal for accepting the Silva bout.

Adesanya, coach Eugene Bareman and their management team are confident that remains the case.

One possibility is that he could now face the winner of a rescheduled bout between Whittaker and Gastelum. Or, if the New Zealand-born Aussie is sidelined for an extended period, Adesanya could square off with Gastelum for an interim belt.

However, Adesanya is not a huge fan of the ‘interim’ tag and proposed another option if Whittaker, who also pulled out of a title defence against Luke Rockhold last year, is not ready to go.

‘‘I think that [interim title fight] is more likely but I don’t like the interim thing because they throw that everywhere,’’ Adesanya told Stuff.

‘‘I’m like, look, strip Rob of the belt because this is not the first time this has happened. Strip Rob of the belt, me and Kelvin fight for it and Rob’s the No 1 contender. So he can come see me when he’s ready.’’