Report: Anderson Silva vs. Israel Adesanya scheduled for UFC 234 in Australia

It looks like Israel Adesanya will take the next step in his MMA career as he faces off against former UFC middleweight champion and all-time great Anderson Silva at UFC 234 on Feb. 9 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, per a recent report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

Silva, 43, hasn’t fought since defeating Derek Brunson via unanimous decision at UFC 208 back in 2017. That victory provided Silva with his first win since ending Stephan Bonnar via TKO in 2012. The legendary Brazilian fighter has obviously experienced a drop off in output over the past couple of years, but Silva is still good enough to run with the top dogs at 185 pounds. We’re not too sure if “Spider” is vying for another run at middleweight gold, but a victory over “Last Stylebender” could land him close to the doorstep.

Adesanya, 29, has drawn comparisons to Silva and Jon Jones since entering UFC earlier this year. The former kickboxing standout has turned in one of the best 2018 campaigns in all of MMA by racking off four-straight victories inside of the Octagon, including a recent TKO destruction of Derek Brunson back at UFC 230. “Last Stylebender” is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport right now so expect a potential title shot his next time out if he’s able to take out Silva on Australian soil this February.

UFC 234 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight pitting current champion Robert Whittaker against former Ultimate Fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum.

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