Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya Targeted For UFC 230

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The UFC continues to stack the upcoming card for the UFC 230 pay-per-view event as it’s being reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com that the promotion is targeting Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya in a middleweight bout for this card.

Brunson (18-6) has his sights set on the UFC middleweight strap as he has already verbally accepted the date for this fight to happen as he is coming off a loss to Ronaldo Souza in January that snapped a two fight winning streak when he picked up wins over Dan Kelley and Lyoto Machida. 

On the flip side, Adesanya (14-0) signed with the UFC this year and is 3-0 in the Octagon where he has made his name known as a rising prospect in the division. He is coming off a decision win against Brad Tavares on July 6 in Las Vegas.

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It should also be noted that the report states that Adesanya and the UFC are also close to finalizing a new deal as he has completed three bouts of a four-fight deal in the span of five months.

The UFC 230 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York City with the main card airing on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.

The promotion will be announcing more bouts in the coming weeks but for now, here’s the updated card:

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David Branch vs. Ronaldo Souza

Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman

Paulo Costa vs. Yoel Romero

Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya