Negotiations remain ongoing as UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya eyes his next title defence, however issues regarding availability of spots at MIQ facilities are not at the forefront in the booking being delayed.
Last month, UFC president Dana White confirmed to the Herald Adesanya was set to fight Kiwi-born Australian Robert Whittaker next in a rematch of the 2019 bout which saw Adesanya win the undisputed title via second-round knockout.
The bout was being targeted as the headline fight for UFC 270 in January – the first pay-per-view of 2022 for the promotion – however that date has been pushed back to February. Speaking to News Corp, Whittaker's manager Titus Day said the issue with getting the fight booked was due to Adesanya being unable to get back into New Zealand in January because of the ongoing Covid quarantine restrictions in his hometown of Auckland.
It seems a strange reason given Adesanya had recently confirmed his plans to relocate to the United States and, in a statement to the Herald, Adesanya's manager Tim Simpson said, while it was a consideration, the MIQ issue was not holding the fight up.
"It's more a matter of ironing out the details as it relates to dates and all surrounding factors, as well as general negotiations," Simpson said.
Several of New Zealand's top combat sports athletes have already committed to heading offshore without first securing MIQ vouchers to ensure their return, and will instead be basing themselves overseas so they can continue to do their jobs and represent the country.
UFC stars Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell and Kai Kara-France have joined their City Kickboxing teammate Adesanya in confirming they and their families will be based in Las Vegas after leaving New Zealand for their upcoming bouts, while boxer David Nyika has revealed he will be moving to the UK for the good of his boxing career. Professional Fighters League lightweight Genah Fabian and reigning International Mixed Martial Arts Federation lightweight world champion Michelle Montague have both been offshore since August.
The rematch between Adesanya and Whittaker has been one many fans have been wanting to see for a long time, with the pair clearly the best two middleweights in the UFC. While the rematch was not booked right away given the dominance of Adesanya's win in their first meeting, they have both gone unbeaten in three middleweight bouts each against top contenders since that meeting and the rematch became an inevitability.
"The fight that everybody wants to see and the fight that has to happen is Robert Whittaker. That's what we want to have happen and that's what we're working on," Dana White confirmed to the Herald.
