Dana White confirms UFC working on Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero

UFC president Dana White has confirmed the promotion is working on booking UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya against Yoel Romero.

For months we have heard rumors that Adesanya could fight Romero but so far nothing has been made official. White said that he didn’t have anything official to announce just yet, but hinted an announcement for Adesanya vs. Romero could come soon.

Here’s what White said to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto about Adesanya vs. Jones.

“We’re looking at Yoel Romero. (Adesanya) wants that fight. He wants to fight Yoel Romero. Nobody wants to fight Yoel Romero. Nobody’s screaming, ‘I want to fight Yoel Romero.’ He is,” White said.

Adesanya has said that he wants the toughest fights and the most difficult challenges. With No. 1 contender Paulo Costa injured and unable to compete, and with top other top contenders such as Jared Cannonier and Robert Whittaker booked already, Romero represents the highest-ranked fighter currently available to fight.

The problem is that Romero is currently on a two-fight losing skid to Whittaker and Costa and it’s rare to see a fighter coming off of two straight losses getting the chance to fight for a belt. But Romero is a highly-regarded fighter amongst his fellow fighters, so despite the losing skid, he would still represent a very difficult fight for Adesanya which is why the UFC is considering booking the matchup.

Rumors are that Adesanya vs. Romero could headline UFC 248, which takes place on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-main event of that card is set to be UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang against former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a grudge match.

White admitted that the UFC has a date in mind for Adesanya vs. Romero, but wouldn’t confirm the rumors that the fight could take place at UFC 248, though that seems very likely at this point.

“Yeah (we have a date), but we’re not announcing it yet,” White said.

Do you think the UFC would be making the right call by booking Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/30/2019.