The UFC recently announced that UFC 293 would be held in Australia for the second time this year. All signs point to Israel Adesanya fighting as one half of the main event, but there are many question marks over the opponent.
The obvious choice was to see Adesanya defend his middleweight belt; however, the highest-ranked Middleweight without a dance partner currently is Derek Brunson, who is unlikely to be in a title fight anytime soon.
Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis is targeted for UFC 290, and the winner is sure to earn a shot at Adesanya's belt. But the two months between 290 and 293 seem to rule out either of those fighters.
Another potential opponent would be Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev seemed to be the front-runner for the fight after missing weight in his last scheduled bout against Nate Diaz. He eventually mauled Kevin Holland in a first-round submission victory, and many thought that would be the last we see of Chimaev at Welterweight.
However, Chimaev and Kamaru Usman both expressed interest in a Welterweight showdown at UFC 294, and that seems to be where Dana White and the UFC are headed. So that rules Chimaev out of UFC 293 as well.
In my opinion, the fight that makes the most sense for Adesanya next would be moving up to light heavyweight to challenge Jamahal Hill for the belt.
You may recall Adesanya moving to 205 back at UFC 259 to challenge Jan Błachowicz in a bid to become a double champion; however, he lost the fight via unanimous decision. Adesanya has since won four fights at middleweight and is deserving of another title shot at light heavyweight.
Looking at the landscape of 205, it makes perfect sense. There are no clear contenders in the division with Jiří Procházka still sidelined with an injury.
But the biggest clue I see for Adesanya vs Hill is actually another booking in Jan Błachowicz vs Alex Pereira.
See, if Adesanya were to defeat Jamahal Hill at UFC 293 and Alex Pereira was also to emerge victorious, we may well see the MMA trilogy settled between the two fierce rivals. With the scores currently at 1-1, this would be the deciding bout, and the UFC would have a serious super fight on their hands.
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