3 possible next opponents for Israel Adesanya after UFC 305 loss

Israel Adesanya (24-4) failed to become a three-time UFC middleweight champion against the incumbent Dricus du Plessis (22-2) by succumbing to a fourth-round rear-naked choke in UFC 305's main event. The Perth, Western Australia crowd and those watching at home were treated to an all-time great middleweight fight. Both competitors will hold their heads high and go their separate ways, but what is next for Adesanya?

The 35-year-old Adesanya has competed in 12 straight title fights, but for the first time in his career, has lost two straight. He performed well despite the result, landing hard body kicks and solid punches. Due to being finished he likely needs to stack a win or two before climbing back into a title fight. He wasn't eager for an immediate rematch, indicating in his post-fight press conference, "I'm not really desperate to get it back."

There's little Adesanya could do to tarnish his legacy. He is not only one of the best champions of this era but in the conversation for the best middleweight champion ever. Sticking around and adding to his list of accomplishments seems to be the plan as he was adamant that he's "not f**king leaving," in his post-fight Octagon interview with Daniel Cormier.

Many of the UFC's top middleweights are already scheduled to compete in the coming months, leaving Adesanya in somewhat of a limbo. He must either wait for the results of those bouts, fight someone outside the division's top 10, or take a potential short-notice opportunity and replace an injured fighter.

It will be appointment viewing for UFC fans whenever Adesanya decides the time is right to fight again. He provided no timeline for his return at the post-fight press conference, merely stating, "You'll see me again when you see me again." Let's examine three possible next opponents Adesanya may find himself locked in the cage with when that time comes:

1. Nassourdine Imavov

Nassourdine Imavov (14-4)(1) has positioned himself as one of the best middleweights right now. He likely still occupies the division's No. 4 ranking barring any shakeup brought on in UFC 305's aftermath. Imavov has won two straight UFC main events, most recently defeating Jared Cannonier (17-7) at UFC Louiseville. He is already scheduled to face off with fellow top contender Brendan Allen (24-5) at UFC Paris, but if he continues his winning ways a fight with Adesanya could make sense next.

Similar to du Plessis, Imavov is superb at blending all the MMA tools whereas Adesanya is more of a specialty kickboxer. That being said, Adesanya is hard to keep down and submit with UFC 305 being the first time any fighter has succeeded in that gameplan. Imavov would have his grappling tested in the ultimate way against Adesanya and it's uncertain how this would go.

Du Plessis has ridiculous raw strength, which plays into his advantage when clinching. This gave him the ability to overwhelm Adesanya. Could Imavov implement a similar game plan? His grappling will be put to a different test in the form of the submission expert Allen, but Allen and Adesanya present polar opposite problems in those ground exchanges. Only time will tell if Imavov will put himself in a position to make this callout, but this could be a key fight at middleweight down the line.

2. Jack Hermansson

Jack Hermansson (24-9) has competed for the UFC since 2016 and deserves big fights. He came up huge against the highly touted Joe Pyfer (13-3) at UFC Vegas 86, still turning back contenders at the ripe age of 36. Hermansson is ranked No. 9 so it would be a step back for Adesanya, but this could be a necessary test for him, especially considering Hermansson's grappling.

Adesanya has fought almost every elite middleweight besides Hermansson. The fight never really made sense before as Hermansson never banked enough consecutive wins to be considered a number-one contender. He's been a solid middleweight, always lurking amongst the top 15 and proving to be one of the division's grittiest fighters.

Hermansson can brawl as evidenced by 11 career knockouts. It almost makes it look like he's a striker by trade, but he shines on the ground. His wrestling is strong and his submissions can come out of nowhere. He has six tap outs in his career. Theoretically, this could be a nightmare matchup stylistically for Adesanya unless he's able to establish range and thwart takedowns as well as he's done so against prior adversaries.

Adesanya must continue testing himself and stacking impressive victories against folks many might count him out against. This is the only way he could add to his legend. Fighting someone like Hermansson might be the first step on that road, as there are paths to victory for both martial artists making it an entertaining prospective fight.

3. Loser of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Robert Whittaker (28-7) and Khamzat Chimaev (13-0) are once again set to compete at UFC 308. The men have been previously scheduled to fight but it fell through due to an illness for Chimaev. Whoever wins likely catapults to a championship fight, but that doesn't mean the losing party doesn't have options.

Whittaker and Adesanya have fought twice prior, both times for the title with Adesanya reigning supreme. Their UFC 271 rematch was close and there were whispers even then that a possible third meeting could make sense down the line. Should Whittaker fail in his objective to land himself another shot at the illusive middleweight crown, he could choose to try and earn vengeance against his rival, Adesanya.

The two kickboxers will always match up well and would be sure to put on a technical display. Whittaker is only 33 and it isn't likely his title aspirations would be extinguished, only put on hold with a loss to Chimaev. Fighting Adesanya would be the best way he could make a statement about being in the UFC to stay.

Chimaev garners a lot of hype when he steps into the Octagon. A loss could slightly hurt his stock but a fight with Adesanya would be intriguing nonetheless. After all, there was talk early in Chimaev's career of him completely leapfrogging the middleweight rankings and challenging Adesanya outright due to the perceived gap in their wrestling abilities.

This gap could still be evident depending on what changes Adesanya can make when he reboots for his next Octagon appearance. If this happens to be against Chimaev, the outcome could go a long way toward determining his middleweight viability going forward.