Israel Adesanya is one of the best fighters in the world today.
But some are wondering just how high his ceiling truly is.
Adesanya defends his middleweight title against Robert Whittaker this Saturday night at UFC 271. The event takes place from Houston and the Toyota Center, airing live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
For Adesanya, this will be his second fight back since a loss to Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in 2021.
The move up to 205 pounds was a difficult one for Adesanya, but he quickly regrouped and returned. In June of last year, he scored a decision over Marvin Vettori to improve to 21-1 in his career.
It marked his third successful title defense since unifying the belts with a finish of Whittaker in 2019.
Now, he gets his rival once again.
If Adesanya can showcase himself as the elite fighter at 185 pounds, he will take a giant step toward cementing his status.
A win over Whittaker will prove there really is no other challengers for him in the division. And that means Adesanya needs to pack on the pounds and make a full-time commitment to light heavyweight.
He is getting older, which is likely making the weight cut more and more difficult each time. The division will have been pretty much cleaned out with a decisive win once more over Whittaker.
What’s left?
At light heavyweight, Adesanya can be thrust into the Top-5 and given one fight to prove himself that he is worthy of challenging for the belt. Win that, and he gets another crack at earning the UFC light heavyweight title.
