5 possible opponents for Israel Adesanya in 2022
After retaining his UFC middleweight title against Marvin Vettori, but also suffering the first loss of his MMA career against Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya will be hoping for a big year in 2022.
Adesanya is set to defend his UFC middleweight crown against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 in February, but who else could be in line for a shot at the champ this year?
There are a number of potential opponents out there for ‘The Last Stylebender’. With his fight with Whittaker coming so early into the year, there’s a chance he could fight at least twice more.
With that in mind, here are five potential opponents for Adesanya in 2022.
#5. Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker
We already know that Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, but is there a chance that these two standouts could face off in a potential trilogy bout in 2022? Absolutely.
Firstly, if ‘The Reaper’ can find a way to defeat Adesanya and reclaim the title he lost back in October 2019, the UFC would almost be guaranteed to sign an instant rematch between the two.
#UFCVegas24
Israel Adesanya was watching Robert Whittaker's latest win 👀 #UFCVegas24
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Not only do they love to book trilogies, but Adesanya stands as one of the promotion’s biggest stars right now. With that in mind, there’s no doubt they’d probably prefer him as champion.
Secondly, it’d be hard to dispute the idea that Adesanya would deserve an immediate rematch. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has essentially been the most dominant middleweight the UFC has seen since Anderson Silva. It’d be unfair to push him to the back of the queue with a loss.
If Adesanya defeats Whittaker for a second time, then a rematch would be a little harder to push. However, given the nature of the division, there’d be nothing to stop Whittaker securing a third shot with another big win later down the line.
Of course, if the fight at UFC 271 were to end in controversy, say due to an injury or a questionable decision from the judges, then a rematch would basically be a given.
With that considered, then, there’s definitely a chance that a trilogy between these two could be settled in 2022.