Israel Adesanya not committed to light heavyweight long-term: “Middleweight is my perfect fighting weight”

UFC middleweight champ is Israel Adesanya not committed to light heavyweight long-term, stating “middleweight is my perfect fighting weight.”

Adesanya won the UFC middleweight title in October 2019 when he defeated Robert Whittaker to take his belt. He has since defended his title successfully against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa to improve his MMA record to a perfect 20-0. The UFC is now giving Adesanya the opportunity to move up to 205lbs and challenge new UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in an attempt to win a second belt. If Adesanya can beat Blachowicz, most fans figure that he will pursue a fight with Jon Jones next.

However, there is no sure thing that Adesanya will remain at 205lbs even if he can get by Blachowicz. Speaking to MMAjunkie.com, Adesanya said that 185lbs is his perfect fighting weight and he isn’t guaranteeing that moving up to 205 is a long-term move. According to the champ, it’s the challenge that he craves more than anything else.

“(Middleweight is) my perfect fighting weight. It is fun and games in the way that I make it look easy, but it’s work. It’s a challenge. it’s what drives you. I like doing things that many people would run away from. People run away from a fight, while I run toward it,” Adesanya said.

Considering Adesanya is 6’4″ with a long frame, many observers of the sport have thought for a while now that he will eventually grow out of middleweight and be forced to move up to light heavyweight. However, it appears that Adesanya is comfortable competing at 185lbs for the foreseeable future. Moving up to light heavyweight is his chance to cement his legacy in the sport as a rare double champ. But 185 is his home.

Do you want to see Israel Adesanya fight at light heavyweight or middleweight in the future?