UFC Middleweight King Israel Adesanya Wants Yoel Romero Next

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Israel Adesanya versus Paulo Henrique Costa was supposed to be the next logical matchup for the middleweight title. However, after the Brazilian suffered a long-term arm injury, the promotion is now scrambling for the champ’s next match, with former title challenger Yoel Romero as the front runner.

Romero, 42, is on a two-fight losing streak, but is still considered by many to be the most dangerous man in the division.

Adesanya has been accused in the past of backing out of a fight against Romero, but rejected those claims.

“The Last Stylebender” talked with TMZ Sports recently and suggested that the UFC doesn’t want the fight to happen because they don’t think the fight would sell well (via BJPenn.com).

“Man, I already called the guy out. They all say (I backed out). I already said it on JRE (Joe Rogan Experience). I’ve never ever backed out from anyone, I’ve never backed down, I never will,” Adesanya said.

“He’s f*cking getting told by his manager (that I won’t fight him). Yeah, I’ve called the guy out, I’ve said I want to fight him. The UFC don’t think that’s going to sell, but f*ck records, I just want to fight. I want Yoel, but if we can’t make that happen we have some ideas.”