It’s official.
Israel Adesanya is set for another tough test on his UFC career as he is booked to defend his middleweight title against one of the scariest fighters at 185 pounds in Yoel Romero.
Earlier this month, UFC president Dana White shared the promotion is working on the potential middleweight clash as both fighters have verbally agreed to face each other in the cage.
“We’re looking at Yoel Romero. Adesanya wants that fight. He wants to fight Yoel Romero. Nobody wants to fight Yoel Romero. Nobody is screaming ‘I want to fight Yoel Romero.’ He is,” White told ESPN.
“Yeah we have a date. But we’re not announcing it yet.”
The Kiwi-Nigerian has unified the middleweight titles after making short work of Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 243.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6r_kD-nLhF/
Done
Last week, the undisputed middleweight champ has told ‘The Mac Life’ that negotiations for the title bout are already finished.
“The fight’s done. Make no mistake, I’m still putting work in,” Adesanya said, (transcript from BJPenn.com).
“I’m still getting ready for my second title defence against a veteran (Romero) of the game.”
“A veteran in wrestling, a tough motherf***er, the boogeyman of the division. The guy nobody calls out.”
The Cuban powerhouse boosted his chances for the title shot after Paulo Costa, the number one contender, revealed he will be sitting out for eight months due to biceps injury.
The pairing drew the ire of some MMA fans as Romero is coming off a two-fight losing skid.
Official
Despite the losses, Romero remains a dangerous threat to Adesanya and many fans want to see the middleweight pair throw it down in the cage.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the middleweight title fight is official for UFC 248, which will happen on March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“BREAKING: Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) vs Yoel Romero (@YoelRomeroMMA) will headline UFC 248 in Las Vegas per Dana White,” Okamoto reported.
“Adesanya is itching to fight.Big one on the dessert on March 7.”
BREAKING: Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) vs. Yoel Romero (@YoelRomeroMMA) will headline UFC 248 in Las Vegas per Dana White. Adesanya was itching to fight. Big one in the desert on March 7. pic.twitter.com/pnx6M5aNoW
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 17, 2020
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero)