James GordonUFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has long aspired to 2021, when he would go up the ladder and try to become a double champion, but the plan has always been to challenge Jon Jones for the bantamweight title.
However, if Jones continues his first featherweight fight, Adesanya will fight on the 6th instead. March to UFC 259 against Jan Blachowicz. After Jones dropped out of the title, Blachowicz stopped the race on the 26th. September Dominic Reyes in the second round and won the belt. Blachowicz was a strong underdog against Reyes, proving that he should not be overlooked against Adesanya, who will probably be the favorite to beat.
Is this the right decision for Adesania?
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Adesan will keep his middleweight title and strive to be the fifth fighter in UFC history to keep two belts at the same time. But will this be good for both divisions, or will it slow the pace if the champion goes from one weight class to the other?
Talk about stopping the momentum: Leon Edwards has been in the business since the 20th century. July 2019: More fights because several fights failed, mainly due to the pandemic. It was supposed to be the 20th. Janvier fought Hamzat Chimaev, but Chimaev gave up with KOVID-19. And that was after the fight was called off when Edwards got the virus. Should the PDU continue this fight or postpone it forever?
ESPN reporters Brett Okamoto and Mark Raimondi are investigating these issues, along with Anthony Pettis who joins the LFP, to decide what is real and what is not.
Fault! The file name is not specified. Jan Blachowicz proved his worth on the 26th. September showed what he was capable of when heavy underdog Dominic Reyes stopped him in the second round. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Actual or not: This is the correct decision for Israel Adesania.
Okamoto: Absolutely. Adesanya’s next challenger to the middleweight title is now Robert Whittaker, whose belt he took in 2019. Personally, I bet more than most on this revenge. I want to see that happen and give Whittaker a real chance to get the belt back. But if Adesanya prefers a bigger fight, which is a chance to add champagne to his already star-studded CV, no one can blame him.
I have always admired Adesani’s fondness for challenge. From the many fights at the beginning of his career to Yoel Romero’s request for protection when no one asked for it, this man is afraid of no one. And I see Blachowicz as a very, very hard fight. In my opinion, the ideal situation for Adesanya in 2021 is to move up the rankings for a fight against Blachowicz, come back as a middleweight for a rematch against Whittaker, and then possibly come back as a lightweight for a meeting with Jon Jones.
Fault! The file name is not specified. Conor McGregor became the first to hold two straps at once after beating Eddie Alvarez on the 12th. November 2016 was stunned. But it wasn’t long before the UFC withdrew its title for inactivity. Adam Hunger – Sports in the United States Today
Actual or not: Double champions are bad for the sport because they slow down thedivisions.
Raimondi: In some cases this may be true. It really varies from case to case. But I’m gonna say it’s not real. In the history of the UFC there have been four fighters who have had two titles at the same time: Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo and Amanda Nunes. I can’t say a division’s been worse after someone became double champion. In some cases the devices have been improved. Since Cejudo bantamweight became champion, the 125-pound category has been the talk of the town. Without Nunes, there probably wouldn’t even be a female featherweight division right now.
One of the reasons that the double champions don’t slow down the divisions is that the UFC does a very good job by asking the titleholders to give up their belts. That’s what happened to McGregor in 2016, after he defeated Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title. Jose Aldo became the undisputed champion after winning the preliminary title by beating Frankie Edgar at the UFC 200. Max Holloway finally beat Aldo to become champion and a new star was born. The same happened to Cejudo, who left the belt for the Davson Figueiredo-Joseph Benavidez fight in January. Figueiredo had no weight, but stopped Benavidez, only to stop him in a rematch in July. Figueiredo was the first lightweight, the best finisher in the history of the division.
In other words: These units must not slow down if the PDU does not allow them. If Adesanya beats Blachowicz and wins the light heavyweight title, he will have a choice of what to do. And the same goes for the UFC. If it makes sense, the promotion will do everything in its power to make room for a potential new leader in the battle for the title.
Fault! The file name is not specified. Should the CVS wait until Hamzat Chimaev recovers and can fight Leon Edwards again, or has Edwards waited long enough and should he fight sooner? Chris Unger/Zuffa
Okamoto: A million percent of the population will have to postpone the fight, and it looks like that will happen after the announcement on Wednesday that the Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny fight will be moved to the main event on the 20th. January is promoted.
This is an exciting and unusual match between Edwards, the top candidate – ESPN’s No. 4 welterweight – and a man with only three UFC fights under his belt. But these three victories, all of which were downright won, put Chimaev on the fast track, and it is possible that the winner of this battle will be next to take the title.
I want the UFC to find Edwards as an opponent because he needs a fight. We haven’t seen him for over a year. But this fight is so good, I understand why the UFC wants to keep it.
Fault! The file name is not specified. Anthony Pettis gets the chance to become champion in two different promotions if he becomes a member of the LFP. Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC through Getty Images.
Actual or not: Anthony Pettis becomes thePFL Champion.
Raimondi: A real one. On paper, the Pettis should be considered the favorite to win the PFL light weight season and the $1 million prize at the end. The PFL has some strong names signed in the 155-pound division for 2021, including Marcin Held, Clay Collard and, of course, two-time defending champion Nathan Schulte. While a fight with Schulte would be very competitive – Schulte is very underestimated – Pettis has a level of skill and experience that is superior to any other. If you say that Pettis is a little late in the prime of his life and is not the fighter he was in 2013 and 2014 as the UFC Lightweight Champion, fine. I’m sure it is. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a championship fighter.
Pettis might even be involved in the resurrection of Jorge Masvidal at the back of his career. Showtime put his parties in order, became more of a family man and found a new love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the very famous coach Robert Drysdale in Las Vegas. Pettis seemed on the right track to win against Alex Morono in 19th. December looks good, and Petters also won Donald Cerrone earlier this year. I mean, this is the same guy who knocked out a much bigger Stephen Thompson in 2019. Pettis is able to beat almost anyone in the world with a light weight. When he’s at his best, the indigenous Milwaukee always belongs to the elite. It will be very interesting to see him come out of the UFC/WEC cage for the first time in 13 years. It wouldn’t be a shock if Pettis had one of those huge million-dollar checks in his pocket in about a year.
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James Gordon
