Mick Maynard's Shoes: What's next for Israel Adesanya after first loss at UFC 259?
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Jan Blachowicz after UFC 259 title defense?)
Israel Adesanya experienced his first blemish in MMA competition Saturday when he fell short against Jan Blachowicz in the UFC 259 headliner.
After a fast ascent up the middleweight rankings, Adesanya (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) bit off more than he could chew in moving up to the light heavyweight division to challenge Blachowicz (28-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in the main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Adesanya suffered a unanimous decision loss to Blachowicz, and with the outcome saw his 20-fight winning streak come to an end. The upside for “The Last Stylebender,” however, is that he’s still the UFC titleholder at 185 pounds.
In the aftermath of UFC 259, both Adesanya and UFC president Dana White pointed toward plans for a drop back down in weight, where he’ll defend against the next title challenger. Now it remains to be seen who that is.
There are a number of options in the running, though, and for more thought and analysis on Adesanya’s future, watch the video above.