Dana White has cast doubt over Israel Adensaya’s plans to fight for the light heavyweight title after Glover Teixeira threw his hat in the ring following a dominant win over Thiago Santos.
Last week, reports emerged that the wheels were set in motion for the New Zealand-Nigerian to move up to the 205-pound ranks to take on reigning champion Jan Blachowicz.
Adesanya, who is currently the middleweight champion, is looking to move up in weight in a bid to entice arch rival Jon Jones, the former light heavyweight king, into a mega-fight.
However, expectations that Adesanya will be first in line to take a shot at Blachowicz’s title may be premature, as Brazilian veteran Teixiera emphatically demonstrated his place as one of the top contenders.
The 41-year-old survived an early scare, in which Santos attempted to submit the Brazilian, before going onto dominate and secure the fourth-round technical knockout. The win over Santos, who ran Jones close in 2019, is a major scalp.
Teixeira is entering a purple patch and enjoying the best form of his career. In his post-fight interview, the light heavyweight pleaded for a shot at Blachowicz’s title, and White has conceded that it is hard to deny the veteran.
“I was sitting listening to him give his interview, he’s not wrong,’ White told ESPN. ‘It’s like, ‘I deserve the shot, I’ve been here forever.”
Plans for the light heavyweight division have not been decided yet, and the UFC supremo said he has some serious considerations to make following Teixeira’s win.
