Previous UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya knows exactly who he wants to face next should he get the job done at UFC Fight Night 250 this weekend.
Competing for the first time in 2025, Israel Adesanya will square off with rising 185-lb star Nassourdine Imavov in the Middle East this Saturday. The bout comes as different territory for the former middleweight kingpin, with it being the first non-title contest for Adesanya in nearly six years since his 2019 clash with Anderson Silva.
Since then, “The Last Stylebender” has fought in 12 championship fights, including a one-off expedition to light heavyweight, where he lost for the first time against Jan Blachowicz.
At the time of this writing, Adesanya stands as a slight favorite over the Frenchman, Imavov. With both men possessing tactical, technical and long range fighting styles, the Nigerian-born striker will have his work cut out for him.
Israel Adesanya Calling Names Out For Next Fight
Should he manage to take down “The Russian Sniper” in Riyadh come this weekend, Adesanya may very well be on the short list of individuals for a shot at the middleweight crown. If a title opportunity isn’t in the cards, for some reason, Israel Adesanya has proposed a different opponent for his next trip to the cage, Caio Borralho.
Speaking with MMA reporter Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show, Adesanya gave his reasoning for wanting to lock horns with the streaking Brazilian.
“Good style, I like his style. Our interactions have been respectful and cordial. And it’s just hands, bro,” Israel Adesanya began. “You’re good, I’m good, let’s throw hands and see what’s up. No bad blood or nothing, I just want to test myself against these young up-and-coming guys like Nassourdine Imavov. I know the answer, but I want to prove it to myself and find out myself. So we’re going to find out.”
Amongst the cream of the crop at 185-lb, Borralho has been on a tear since his signing with the UFC back in 2022. Currently on a massive 16-fight winning streak, the Team Fighting Nerds standout claimed the biggest win of his career at UFC on ESPN 62 last August when he defeated Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision. Following his victory over the previous title challenger, “The Natural” began to make his own callouts of Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya Must Take It One Step at a Time
Before the former two-time middleweight champion can face Borralho, however, he still has to contend with a seemingly-unstoppable Imavov. Since losing to Sean Strickland up a weight division at UFC Fight Night 217, the Frenchman has gone unbeaten in his past four fights, scoring superb wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, and Brendan Allen.
On the opposite side of things, Imavov could very well earn priority challenging rights for the title if he performs the upset against Adesanya. With current champion Dricus Du Plessis and Strickland fighting next weekend, and with Khamzat Chimaev likely waiting in the wings for the winner of said contest, Adesanya or Imavov will possibly have to wait till later on in 2025 for their chance at the 185-lb throne.