UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya always keeps his eye on the division for potential future opponents, and had praise for a certain Dana White’s Contender Series veteran.
The champ is wrapping up fight camp as he is a couple of weeks away from facing Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281. Adesanya isn’t looking past the man who defeated him twice in kickboxing, as he said he’s preparing for what he calls his biggest fight yet, considering their history.
If Adesanya wins, it will be his sixth title defense (seventh if you ask him), and is hungry to continue a dominant reign over the division.
Adesanya appeared as a guest on Jake Paul’s YouTube show and revealed the names of a few peers in the division he has been keeping an eye on. The champ kept with the “everybody can get it” mentality, but did specify a few names he would like to mix it up one day, including Khamzat Chimaev, Sean Strickland, and a bit of a surprise considering his current standing in the division, Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues.
“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 referred to is a nasty cut Rodrigues experienced from the knee of Chidi Njokuani in their UFC Fight Night 210 bout.
Rodrigues currently holds four wins in the UFC’s middleweight division. He currently is outside of the promotional rankings, but has shown promise as a contender with back-to-back finishes of Julian Marquez and Njokuani this year.
As for the rising middleweight Rodrigues, who is currently slated to face Brad Tavares at UFC 283, he’s definitely up for the challenge should their paths cross in the future.
“My goal is the belt and if you continue as champion, for sure we will fight soon!” Rodrigues wrote on Twitter.
I’m here @stylebender @ufc @UFCBrasil
My goal is the belt and if you continue as champion, for sure we will fight soon! ☝🏾👊🏾#mma #ufc #robocop #ufcbrasil #MMATwitter pic.twitter.com/LF4Nx3N4am
— Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues (@gregory_mma) October 28, 2022
