Who’s Up Next In The Middleweight Division?

After Israel Adesanya’s knockout victory over former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira lots of people are now discussing who is up next for the chance of claiming glory at middleweight.

It’s time to take a look at the top competitors in the running for the title shot.

Jan Błachowicz (29-9-1)

At UFC 259 Jan Błachowicz handed Israel Adesanya his first UFC defeat to stop his chance of becoming a two division champion. Now he wants to come down to middleweight to fight Adesanya for his title and beat him once again. Błachowicz has never fought at 185 but has assured that he can make the weight.

On “The Craic with Petesey Caroll he stated: “If UFC would like to make this fight , I will do it, no problem.” However, he also stated that “They have to give me like, three, four months,” explaining that he would need time to train and cut the weight and that it will not be a short process.

This fight could make an interesting one as both have fought in the past but in a higher weight class. Adesanya went into Błachowicz’ division where he thrives more but now Adesanya has a chance to redeem himself in his own weight class where he has been so dominant for many years.

In their light heavyweight match-up Błachowicz was able to stand on the feet and compete with Adesanya’s striking and was also able to dominate him on the ground before securing a decision win. We did see some moments from Israel Adesanya but we never saw him do much damage or threaten Jan Błachowicz, but at middleweight he would have a fair shot at retaining his title as he has thrived here for so long.

Dricus Du Plessis (19-2)

Du Plessis and Adesanya have had some conflict since UFC 287 after “The Last Stylebender” exclaimed how he had the desire to ‘drag Du Plessis’ carcass South Africa.’ Since then the South African has made remarks about Adesanya and Usman not being legitimate ‘African Champions’ as they mainly reside in the United States and New Zealand and that he is a legitimate ‘African Fighter’ as he lives and trains in Africa.

However, Du Plessis has not fought anyone inside the top 10 of the middleweight division, so could it be too early for a title shot? He has had submission and knockout victories the latest coming over Derek Brunson. He has proven that he has the ability to grapple and stand on the feet but not against a big name yet.

It will make a good fight though, because of the storyline and Adesanya can prove to Du Plessis that he is a legitimate “African Champion” by beating him and possibly on a fight card in Africa. Du Plessis brings lots of wrestling experience to the table which could cause problems for Israel Adesanya as we have seen him struggle with this in the past but Adesanya has incredible striking and is known especially for his counter strikes.

Robert Whittaker (25-6)

Robert Whittaker has fought Israel Adesanya twice in the past and has lost both bouts. One coming the way of knockout the other by a comfortable decision.

Whittaker is currently the number one contender in the middleweight division and apart from his losses to Adesanya he has not been defeated by any other fighter since 2014 and his latest victory came over Marvin Vettori.

Whittaker’s problem lies with the fact that he has lost to Adesanya twice already and that there are other fighters who haven’t competed against Adesanya who have an opportunity to have a shot at the title. Less people would want to see that fight because it has been the same story twice before but Whittaker has beaten everyone else in the division. Could he have an interim fight before fighting Israel, perhaps against someone like Khamzat Chimaev who has very similar abilities?

Do you agree? Who do you think deserves the chance to fight for the middleweight title? Let us know down in the comments.