Fresh on the heels of a historic rematch for the UFC middleweight belt, both the champion and the challenger are seeking to broaden their MMA horizons by moving up to 205 lbs. This doesn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone: the once again middleweight champ Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Adesanya has already tested his luck at a higher weight class, losing a unanimous decision to Jan Blachowitz at UFC 259. Meanwhile Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira has competed as a light-heavyweight in kickboxing in the past, and is a huge middleweight by UFC standards.
While Pereira and Adesanya moving up in weight seems almost inevitable, it does throw two already tumultuous UFC division into further disarray. Read on for my thoughts on the state of the 185 lbs and 205 lbs weight classes in the UFC, or if you are just here for the gambling content, you can waste some time playing slots with no deposit bonus 2023 Germany.
Who’s Next for the Middleweight Title?
Had Pereira defeated Adesanya in the rematch, it would have really opened up the division for all those contenders who already lost one-sided fights to ‘Izzy’, some more than once: all the Robert Whittakers, Jared Cannoniers, Marvin Vetoris would have crawled out of the wood pile, salivating at the thought of facing a champion with limited grappling credentials. Sadly with Adesanya back in the reigns, the title shot prospects for those three become somewhere between slim and none. Should Adesanya remain in the division and defend the middleweight title, his next opponent is far more likely to be either [#5] Khamzat Chimaev or [#8] Dricus Du Plessis. Both have been campaigning for an opportunity to take on Adesanya, so we are stuck in an odd choice between a fighter with no recent fights in the division, and one who is on a decent streak but not very high ranked and on paper stands little chance against the champ. As weird as this matchup seems, I am going with ‘DDP’ as the next challenger for Adesanya if Israel remains a middleweight.
If Adesanya instead does go up to light heavyweight, we will almost certainly get an interim title. With Stylebender out of the picture, all the guys who lost to him are suddenly back in it. Any interim title at 185 has to involve Robert Whittaker, with a fairly wide open choice of opponents.
What About the 205?
After Jiri Prochazka submitted Glover Teixeira in the final round of their title fight at UFC 275, he was expected to be an active, exciting, balls-to-the-wall fighting-style champion. However an unfortunate shoulder injury sidelined Jiri, and forced him to vacate the title. After Jan Blachowitz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a draw, leaving the title vacant, UFC president Dana White immediately made a new title fight between Michigan native Jamahal Hill and Teixeira. Hill won handily, sending Glover into retirement, and creating an unusual situation where the UFC champion is not the #1 ranked guy in the division. Hill sits only at #4 in our current ranking, with Jiri, Jan, and even Bellator’s Vadim Nemkov all ahead on the list.
With no clear-cut #1 contender at 205 until Jiri returns from his injury, middleweights are licking their chops at the prospect of taking out a UFC champion who is primarily a striker and thus perceived as an easy stylistic matchup for world-class kickboxers like Pereira and Adesanya. I don’t believe that either man deserves an immediate shot at 205 title: Adesanya has tried it already not so long ago and fell short; while Poatan has been fast-tracked to one title shot already and there’s no rhyme or reason to give him another one coming off a KO loss. However UFC loves the champ-champ narrative, so the longer Prochazka remains in recovery, the more likely we are to see a former middleweight slide into his place.
Will Poatan and Stylebender Ever Meet Again?
They currently stand 2-0 in Poatan’s favor in kickboxing; 1-1 in the UFC Octagon. Will Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya meet again? At 185 lbs or at 205, MMA or kickboxing – or perhaps another sport in the future; both have dabbled in boxing I believe. Submission grappling? Arm wrestling? Ice Hockey? Checkers? Whatever it is, I have a feeling we haven’t seen the end of this rivalry.