The push of Israel Adesanya shows no signs of slowing down.
Just three fights into his UFC career, the Kiwi is set to headline his first UFC event, the promotion announced on Monday.
Adesanya (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will take on Brad Tavares (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, which takes place July 7 (AEST) in Las Vegas.
Both fighters recently competed earlier this month in Arizona. Adesanya picked up a split decision win over Marvin Vettori, while Tavares scored a TKO victory over Krzysztof Jotko.
The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale 🦄#oneouts #isthatusgee #hoka #cooomegee #skeeeeed #myunclesaretongan #horse pic.twitter.com/l1WspBEwXb
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) May 1, 2018
For Adesanya, the match up with Tavares is without question a huge step up in competition and will be the sternest test of his MMA career. Tavares is currently ranked number 10 in the UFC middleweight rankings and made his debut for the organisation way back in 2010. He is also currently riding a 4-fight winning streak.
Adesanya made his UFC debut in Perth this past February and remains undefeated in mixed martial arts with 13 wins. The fight against Tavares will be his third fight in a five month stretch since joining the organisation.
With the fight set to headline The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, there is the possibility that Australian fighter Suman Mokhtarian could also feature on the card. Mokhtarian is a contestant on the show, which recently aired its second episode on UFC Fight Pass.
Jimmy Crute set to fight on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series