Israel Adesanya talks matchup with ‘Boogeyman’ of 185lbs Yoel Romero and sends a message to Jon Jones

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was a recent guest of ESPN’s Now or Never and he talked about potential matchups against Yoel Romero and Jon Jones.

Adesanya was asked by the hosts who he would like to fight next, and he said if it was up to him his next opponent would be Romero, the man who he says no one else at 185lbs wants to fight.

“Me, I asked for the ‘Boogeyman’ of the division, the guy no one wants to fight, Yoel Romero. I wanted him,” Adesanya said. “But, like I said, I’m a charitable guy. I mean he doesn’t deserve a shot at the champ after coming off his last few fights losing. He’s a guy that, I don’t really care about records, if he’s the guy that people thinks going to beat me, if he’s the people’s champ, then alright, let’s see what you got.”

UFC president Dana White recently said that he is now open to booking Romero vs. Adesanya after initially saying he wasn’t interested in the fight due to Romero’s two-fight losing skid. But MMA fans and Adesanya himself want the Romero fight, so there’s a very good chance it happens next. As of now, though, this fight is not booked yet.

The hosts also asked Adesanya about potentially fighting Jones. He said it’s a fight that interests him, but didn’t elaborate much more about it as he’s currently focused on defending the UFC middleweight title, with a move to 205lbs coming down the road.

“Yeah, 100 percent (interested in Jones). He’s the guy who started it, TMZ kinda poked the bear and he started it,” Adesanya said. “He then stuck up his middle finger to the camera when asked if he had a message for the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Do you think the UFC will get the Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero deal done?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/13/2019.