Israel Adesanya, the middleweight champion of the UFC, has high admiration for a certain Dana White's Contender Series veteran and regularly keeps an eye on the division for prospective future opponents. The Last Stylebender has already beaten some notable names in the division as he sets for another title defense at UFC 281.
As he faces Alex Pereira in the UFC 281 main event in a few weeks, the champion is finishing his fight camp. Adesanya stated he is preparing for what he calls his biggest battle yet because the opponent has previously defeated him in kickboxing. If Adesanya triumphs, it will be his sixth championship defense and he is eager to carry on his ruthless rule over the division.
On Jake Paul's YouTube show, Adesanya made an appearance as a guest and shared the names of a few divisional rivals he has been keeping an eye on. The champion maintained the "anyone can get it" attitude, although he did list a few fighters he would like to spice things up with in the future, including Gregory "Robocop" Rodrigues and Khamzat Chimaev, who would come as a surprise given his current ranking in the category.
“A good fighter actually I want to fight is the guy that – he kind of just fought not too long ago, ‘Robocop’ is his name,” Adesanya said on BS w/ Jake Paul. “He’s a Brazilian guy. He had that gash, you cannot forget that gash. He had that cut. That guy.
“He’s solid, he’s a good fight. No beef, no nothing. I just think he’s going to come up to the top and I’d like to test myself against a guy like that.”
The gash Adesanya was referring to, was a severe scar Rodrigues received from Chidi Njokuani's knee during their UFC Fight Night 210 match. As of right now, Rodrigues has four victories in the middleweight division of the UFC. Although he is not currently in the promotion’s rankings, his performance in this year's back-to-back victories over Julian Marquez and Njokuani has shown that he could be a viable candidate.
The mention by the division champion has caught the attention of rising middleweight Rodrigues, who is presently scheduled to compete against Brad Tavares at UFC 283, and he's absolutely up for the battle should their paths meet in the future.
“My goal is the belt and if you continue as champion, for sure we will fight soon!” Rodrigues wrote on Twitter.
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