Israel Adesanya rose to super stardom last year as he captured the UFC middleweight title with an impressive knockout win over Robert Whittaker. The Last Stylebender will be returning to the Octagon for his first fight of 2020 in March when he will attempt to defend his title against veteran Yoel Romero.
ESPN's Brett Okamoto reports that Dana White confirmed the fight, which will headline UFC 248 in Las Vegas on March 7. Contracts have not yet been signed, but are expected to be finalized soon.
This will be Adesanya's first title defense after having unified the middleweight championship in October. The Last Stylebender is a perfect 18-0.
Romero (13-4) has lost his past two fights to Robert Whittaker and, most recently, Paulo Costa at UFC 241 in August. Costa was reportedly supposed to challenge Adesanya for the title, but underwent surgery on his injured left biceps in early October, forcing the UFC to look at other options.