A rising star is scheduled to go up against one of the all-time greats at UFC 234.
Apparently UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya’s plan involves fighting one of the consensus greatest fighters in MMA history.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Saturday that Adesanya is on course to fight Anderson Silva in what would most likely serve as the co-main event for UFC 234 in Australia on February 9th (Feb. 10 in Australia).
Adesanya (15-0) is one of the hottest names in the sport right now. “The Last Stylebender” is 4-0 in the UFC, most recently stopping Derek Brunson at UFC 230 earlier this month at Madison Square Garden. Highly touted for his striking skills, Adesanya easily stuffed Brunson’s takedowns much in the same way that he did against Brad Tavares in July, and it is clearly his biggest win of his career thus far. He is currently ranked #6 in the UFC middleweight division, an incredible feat given he made his Octagon debut in February 2018, and Silva would certainly be the highest profile opponent he’s faced.
Silva (34-8, 1 NC) hasn’t fought since a somewhat controversial win over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in February 2017. He was due to fight Kelvin Gastelum last November, only to fail a USADA drug test. Silva wound up getting a reduced suspension after it was revealed that he had ingested a contaminated supplement. The 43-year-old is one of the most prolific champions the UFC has ever seen, with ten successful middleweight title defenses. However, he’s 1-4 (1 NC) since 2013, starting with his KO loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162.
UFC 234 takes place in the city of Melbourne, with the main card airing live on pay-per-view. The main event is a middleweight title bout between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum.