Israel Adesanya already has said he plans to defend his middleweight title at the beginning of 2020 against Yoel Romero.
Adesanya (18-0) remained undefeated when he won the UFC middleweight title by knocking out Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 last month. The win was Adesanya’s seventh straight in the UFC, and he snapped the nine-fight winning streak of Whittaker and became the first man to finish him at 185-pounds.
Although it looked likely Adesanya would make his first title defense against Paulo Costa, the Brazilian is sidelined with a bicep injury until April, so Adesanya discussed a fight with Romero instead when he spoke to MMA Fighting.