PHOTO | Israel Adesanya is looking jacked

Israel Adesanya seems to have packed on some size.

The UFC middleweight champion flaunted his impressive physique in a recent Instagram post, attributing his apparent gains to all the “‘Murica food” he ate during his recent travels in the United States.

See the champ flexing below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B55HSmwHIyI/

This post from Adesanya is bound to get fight fans speculating about a potential fight between him and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

While Jones is currently scheduled for a light heavyweight title defense opposite the dangerous Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February, he and Adesanya have been trading trash talk on social media for months, and have repeatedly expressed interest in meeting one another in the cage sometime in the future.

If Adesanya were to challenge Jones, of course, a little extra size would be a useful tool, as Jones is naturally the larger of the two.

While this all very fun to think about, Adesanya has stated that he does not intend to move up to the light heavyweight division to challenge Jones until 2021, as his first priority is clearing a crowded field of middleweight contenders.

Adesanya doesn’t currently have a title defense booked, but he has no shortage of options for his next challenge — even with top contender Paulo Costa recovering from an injury.

The expectation is that his first defense will come in the form of Yoel Romero. Beyond that, challenges from fighters like Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and the former champion Robert Whittaker all seem like possibilities.

Adesanya won the UFC middleweight title in October, when he delivered a dazzling second-round knockout of Whittaker.

Do you think the the middleweight champion is attempting to pack on some mass for the next chapter of his UFC career? Who do you want to see him fight next?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/10/2019.