I just wanna whoop his a** - UFC Champion Israel Adesanya reveals the list of opponents he looks forward to facing in the future Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Approve Reject & ban Delete Logout

I just wanna whoop his a** - UFC Champion Israel Adesanya reveals the list of opponents he looks forward to facing in the future

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya UFC middleweight champion is looking to successfully defend his belt for the sixth time against at UFC 281 next month. Adesanya recently revealed which middleweight opponents he would like to face in the future. As announced on , we have a ??????? main event set for MSG

@Stylebender vs Alex Pereira is confirmed for !

[ Tickets on sale Friday August 26th ]As announced on , we have a ??????? main event set for MSG @Stylebender vs Alex Pereira is confirmed for ! [ Tickets on sale Friday August 26th ] During a recent appearance on BS W/Jake Paul, Adesanya was asked about middleweight opponents that he wants to fight. The No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter stated: "The hillbilly, Strickland. I just wanna whoop his a**. I really just wanna whoop his a**. A good fighter actually I wanna fight is Robocop [Gregory Rodrigues]... He had that gash, you can not forget that gash. He had that cut clockwise. He's solid, he's a good fighter. No beef, no nothing, I just think he's gonna come up to the top and I'd like to test myself against a guy like that." He continued: "Even Khamzat, if he does well. Leon's the champ now, but you gotta fight the top of the top at welterweight first. He does well, he gets the belt, why not? I love to test myself against people like that... The story's still being written. Everybody can get it, man, woman or child. If you can crawl, we can brawl." While it is not surprising that Israel Adesanya listed and , both of whom called him out, Gregory Rodrigues was an unexpected inclusion. Rodrigues is currently unranked and not in the title picture. His toughness shown at UFC Fight Night 210 clearly impressed the middleweight champion, however, as Adesanya believes he will soon be in title contention. Watch Israel Adesanya's full comments on potential middleweight opponents below (starting at the 27:23 mark):

Robert Whittaker backs Israel Adesanya to successfully defend his middleweight belt at UFC 281

Israel Adesanya and are very familiar with one another. After Adesanya defeated Whittaker to claim the middleweight belt at UFC 243. 'The Last Stylebender' came on top in their rematch at UFC 271, successfully defending the belt for the fourth time. As Adesanya looks for his sixth successful title defense, his former opponent is backing him to win the fight. Three years ago today, Israel Adesanya knocked out Robert Whittaker to become king of the middleweights Three years ago today, Israel Adesanya knocked out Robert Whittaker to become king of the middleweights During a recent appearance on MMA Pros Pick, the No.1-ranked middleweight stated: "If I was a betting man, I'd have to go with Adesanya, you'd have to. I think he's the best defensive striker in the game, physically it just makes perfect sense for him to fight that way and he's a tricky guy to hit, but Pereira is huge, man. He's a huge guy and they've fought before so they have some sort of understanding of each other's reach." Whittaker noted that smaller gloves will be the biggest factor in the UFC 281 main event. Adesanya will be looking to avenge his two kickboxing losses to Pereira. Watch Robert Whittaker back Israel Adesanya below (starting at the 0:10 mark): Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Thank You! Show More Comments No thanks Delete Cancel Update Reply ❮ ❯ No thanks Delete Cancel Update Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Logout No Results Found