Israel Adesanya will receive a huge test in his next bout, as he will battle sixth-ranked middleweight Derek Brunson at UFC 230.
The UFC made the bout official today at the big press conference. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported the near finalization of the bout agreement earlier.
Kickboxing phenom Israel Adesanya has impressed early in his UFC career, and now he is ready to prove that he is worthy of title contention. Derek Brunson is a respected and heavy-handed middleweight contender that will attempt to overwhelm the striking stud.
Israel Adesanya made a name for himself in the kickboxing circuit, going 57-5 including a title shot in GLORY. After losing a pair of bouts in a row in the kickboxing ring, Adesanya fully committed to MMA, which he had dabbled in throughout his career. The Stylebender’s debut in the Octagon was excellent, knocking out Rob Wilkinson in two rounds in a great display of striking aptitude. After a hard-fought split decision against Marvin Vettori, Adesanya put forth a five-round clinic against Brad Tavares in his first main event, earning him the shot at Brunson.
Derek Brunson was supposed to fight this weekend against Antonio Carlos Junior, but pulled out of the event with an eye injury. The North Carolina native knocked out both Dan Kelly and Lyoto Machida before getting ousted by Jacare Souza in a main event opportunity. The power-puncher is 9-4 in the Octagon with six knockouts.
UFC 230 takes place on November 3 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main event has yet to be announced, but it has the early building blocks of an excellent card. Announced bouts include Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz, Jacare Souza vs. David Branch, Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa, a rematch between Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman, and Lyman Good vs. Sultan Aliev.
