Anderson Silva vs. Israel Adesanya targeted for Australia’s UFC 234
One of the UFC greatest fighters against one of the promotion’s fastest rising prospects is set for February’s UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia, as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is set to face Israel Adesanya, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
After a year away, Silva is coming off his second USADA suspension after taking tainted supplements. He’s just 1-4-0-1 in his last five dating back to July 2013 and hasn’t been in the cage since earning a unanimious decision win over Derek Brunson in February 2017.
Following an extensive kickboxing career, the 29-year-old Adesanya is undefeated (15-0) in MMA and is 4-0 in the UFC. He is coming off a first round win over Brunson at November’s UFC 230.
The show features a main event of middleweight champion and Australia native Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. One would assume that if Gastelum suffers an injury, the New Zealand native Adesanya will be given the opportunity.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.