Adesanya set for shot at title
Rising Kiwi star Israel Adesanya could soon be gunning for a UFC middleweight title in an historic trans-tasman encounter in Australia with Robert Whittaker.
UFC president Dana White is in Australia this week for an awards ceremony.
The Daily Telegraph reports that he was also meeting with Adesanya in Sydney yesterday to discuss the Nigerian-born New Zealander’s future.
White said his talks with Adesanya could involve a possible world title fight in a division where Auckland-born Australian Whittaker is the reigning champion.
The UFC boss recently hailed the Kiwi as ‘‘the future’’ after the 29-year-old shook off a knee injury to score a first-round knockout win over American Derek Brunson at UFC 230 in New York earlier this month.
Defeating Brunson at Madison Square Gar- den was Adesanya’s fourth consecutive UFC victory since his debut in February – improving his overall MMA record to 15-0 – and it stands as the biggest win of his blossoming career.
Adesanya – nicknamed The Last Style bender – climbed to sixth in the middleweight rankings on the back of his sensational performance at UFC 230.
‘‘It’s very possible, yes,’’ White told the Daily Telegraph of Adesanya’s title shot prospects. ‘‘That’s why he’s flying in here, Israel wants to meet with me and talk.
‘‘When he read that I was flying in here this week, he said he wanted to come across and talk. And that’s awesome.
‘‘Because if you saw the press conference after his most recent win [against Brunson] I said that he and I needed to get together. So this is perfect.’’
Adesanya could be lined up to face Whittaker should the 27-year-old defend his middleweight belt against American Kelvin Gastelum, who is ranked fourth in the division, at UFC 234 in Melbourne on February 10.
Whittaker’s MMA record is 20-4 and he became Australia’s first UFC champion last year.
No Kiwi fighter has yet won a title in UFC, although Whittaker is of Ma¯ ori and Samoan descent.
Speaking in Sydney, White said it would make sense for their potential clash to take place down under.
‘‘In fact, if these two guys fight, it’s something I would really look at doing in a stadium here,’’ White said.