UFC champ Israel Adesanya: Bring on Yoel Romero now that Paulo Costa is out

In the wake of derailed plans, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is calling his shot.

Adesanya, who claimed gold earlier this month from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243, had been expected to face undefeated No. 1 contender Paulo Costa in his first title defense, but the matchup apparently has been shelved. Earlier Tuesday, UFC president Dana White revealed that Costa is out for the foreseeable after having surgery.

“He had surgery on his bicep, so he’s out for eight months,” White said. “But we are working on something else with Israel right now.”

On Tuesday night, Adesanya revealed on Twitter what that “something else” is. Adesanya tweeted a screengrab of a conversation with his coach, Eugene Bareman, dated Oct. 17 in which they agree that former title challenger Yoel Romero should be next with Costa out.

Adesanya’s tweet included Romero’s Twitter handle and his signature #iseeyousoonboi hashtag.

You guys just finding out shit we been knowing for weeks and plotting on for months! #staywoke #iseeyousoonboi @YoelRomeroMMA

During UFC 243 fight week, Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) took a shot at Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) while discussing his two losses to Whittaker. Those comments came months after Adesanya went off on Twitter in May after fans voiced their support for Romero.

Romero, 42, is currently ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings. He’s coming off two losses in a row for the first time in his career after dropping a hard-fought unanimous decision to Costa in August at UFC 241.