UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, may face his arch-nemesis, Alex Pereira, for their third meeting in the cage sooner than expected.
This is because the current light heavyweight champion, Jamahal Hill, has relinquished his title after rupturing his Achilles. The injury would require surgery, keeping the former champ on the shelf for some time.
While this is unfortunate for Hill, given how he had scratched and clawed to become a champion by defeating Jiu-Jitsu world champion and former LHW champ Glover Teixeira in a gruelling five-round affair, it might signal the start of the road towards giving the MMA and indeed the fight world another thrilling chapter in the rivalry between Adesanya and the Brazilian Pereira.
Following his defeat to Adesanya in their middleweight bout at UFC 287, Pereira announced his move up to the light heavyweight division following difficulties making middleweight. They immediately billed him to make his light heavyweight debut against former champion and current No. 3-ranked Jan Blachowicz.
With Hill having to relinquish the championship, there’s a vacant space at the top in need of immediate filling. Interestingly, the only other top light heavyweight fight booked was Hill vs Jiri Prochazka, who is the No. 1 contender and the former champ, who himself relinquished the title. Hill’s injury means the championship clash, billed for UFC 292 in just a month, is off.
The UFC upgraded Pereira’s fight with Blachowicz to a title fight, scheduled for the co-main event of UFC 291 on 30 July. While there have been debates about Prochazka fighting No. 2-ranked Magomed Ankalaev for the title, such a fight will take longer to assemble as Ankalaev will require three months to be ready. This is not considering the time it might take to reach a business and financial agreement for the fight. The division can’t be without a champion for so long.
If Pereira wins the title fight, Adesanya could challenge for the light heavyweight belt again and set up a massive money fight in what would be Pereira vs Adesanya 3.
READ ALSO: UFC: Israel Adesanya loses title after knockout defeat against Pereira
There’s every reason to do so. First is the apparent fact that there is less motivation for Adesanya to keep fighting in his weight class, though Dricus Du Plessis has presented him with a fresh challenge. Aside from Du Plessis, Adesanya has beaten six of the top eight fighters and four of the top five, some, like Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori, whom he has beaten twice each. He has since been calling for new challenges, and though he’s gotten those in his last three fights, he needs more to stay active.
The prospect of becoming the light heavyweight champion opens up opportunities to test himself against a new set of fighters in that division. Adesanya fought and lost his bid for the light heavyweight belt against Blachowicz. Trying again would greatly appeal to the Stylebender more than anything else. Importantly, it will be a big-money fight for the UFC, especially at a time when big fights are becoming harder to come by.
But it remains to be seen if this will be a goal for Pereira. The Brazilian will become the first man in history to win the middleweight and light heavyweight titles in both Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts if he claims the UFC light heavyweight title
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