Israel Adesanya interested in fight with Gregory Rodrigues; ‘I’d like to test myself against a guy like that’
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is always looking for the next big fight. He sees that potential in DWCS alumni Gregory ‘Robocop’ Rodrigues.
On November 12th, Adesanya will step back into the Octagon to defend his UFC title against a familiar foe in kickboxing specialist Alex Pereira. The two middleweight warriors will meet for the third time, the first two coming under the GLORY Kickboxing banner. Losing the first two meetings, Adesanya will have something to prove against Pereira despite being one of the UFC’s most dominant reigning champions.
Should he get the last laugh against his Brazilian rival, Israel Adesanya will be looking for his next big fight. Appearing on Jake Paul’s YouTube channel, ‘Stylebender’ revealed his picks for potential post-UFC 281 matchups with one rather surprising name coming up.
“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.”
Israel Adesanya Named Two More Potential Opponents Following UFC 281
Debuting for the UFC in 2021, Gregory Rodrigues has gone 4-1 inside the Octagon with three wins by way of knockout. His lone loss came against Armen Petrosyan in February, though it was a closely contested split decision. ‘Robocop’ has since earned back-to-back wins over Julian Marquez and Chidi Njokuani.
Currently, Rodrigues is not listed in the UFC’s top 15 ranking for the middleweight division so don’t expect to see Israel Adesanya mix it up with ‘Robocop’ anytime soon, but ‘Stylebender’ did have a couple more names that could share the spotlight with him in 2023. No. 7 ranked Sean Strickland was one of the names suggested by the champ. Known for his controversial take on pretty much everything, Strickland scored six straight victories before falling to Alex Pereira via first-round knockout at UFC 276.
Adesanya also spoke about a potential clash with undefeated welterweight Khamzat Chimaev. While the Chechen-born monster aims to capture welterweight gold, he has routinely teased a run in the middleweight division where Israel Adesanya reigns supreme. As of now, all signs point to a 170-pound clash between Chimaev and Colby Covington, but as well all know with the UFC, things can change in the blink of an eye.
