Israel Adesanya's next opponent all but confirmed

Rumors are beginning to heat up surrounding the return of Israel Adesanya.

Despite losing each of his last two outings, 'The Last Stylebender's stature in the sport remains intact. The kickboxing ace continues to be one of the biggest names under the UFC banner and still has hopes of clawing his way back to the top of the division.

To do so, Israel Adesanya must get a win under his belt. With many middleweight contenders desperate to fight the former champion, Adesanya isn't short on potential opponents.

According to fellow 185 lbs contender Caio Barralho, Adesanya has signed on the dotted line for his next matchup.

"Yeah, [Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov is] confirmed," Borralho claimed. "I think the UFC offered Izzy two fights—me or Imavov."

"He suddenly posted a clip studying Imavov's tape. I was like, 'Come on, bro.'"

Borralho revealed a brief exchange of words he and Adesanya had following the potential fight news.

"Actually, I sent a message to Izzy and was like, 'Bro, why are you choosing that?' And he was like, 'We're going to fight next year, we're going to dance next year for the belt.'"

"I respect you if you choose that. I think [Adesanya] chose right because I think Imavov is a better fight for him."

Borralho later gave his prediction on how he expects that matchup to play out.

"I think Izzy is the favorite in this fight. Imavov, I think he's good and all of that, but I don't think he has the cardio for five rounds."

"I don't think he has the best mentality for five rounds, you know. He gets frustrated a lot [in fights]."

"He fought a three round fight with Brendan Allen in Paris. It was a boring fight, they were tired since the first round."

"If he does the same thing with Izzy, [Adesanya's] going to pick him apart... I think Izzy's going to win this fight."

Check out what Caio Barralho had to say about Israel Adesanya and more below.