UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya moved up to face then UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in 2021. He came up short but that will not dull the shine of his incredible 12-1 record in the company. He is an exciting fighter with a unique and sometimes unorthodox style that appeals to the fans. Along with his strong and often in your face personality he is easily marketable.
Fighters like Israel are often prone to feelings of boredom and want to make those jumps up in weight to test themselves. His manager Tim Simpson spoke to MMA Junkie about his client and his potential future.
He’s mentioned he wants to go back up to 205,. Obviously, the last time he came up short, but I think he would be very comfortable in that division again if that’s what he wants to do. It’s really up to him and Eugene (trainer) on the athletic side. I think he has business he wants to attend to at 185 pounds, he says he wants to fight everybody of his era in that weight class, which he almost has done….He wants to go down as the greatest of all time in that division, and there’s opportunity to stay there and keep fighting. But the door’s open to light-heavyweight, even heavyweight. He’s had success at heavyweight in kickboxing, too.
Israel Adesanya moving to heavyweight sounds crazy especially given his lean appearance and lanky frame. Do you think he would do well?