Israel Adesanya became the undisputed UFC middleweight champion after defeating Robert Whittaker last night. The Nigerian native, whose been representing New Zealand, knocked out his opponent in the second round of the main event of the UFC 243.
This was the 18th win for Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who still didn’t lose in his MMA career, and is right behind Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has 28 victories. This is his seventh victory in UFC, and he became the undisputed champ in just 18 months since joining the Dana White’s organization. With 30 years of age, he might become one of the most dominant MMA fighters ever.
With 3:33 into the second round, after one of many blitzes Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) had, Adesanya launched a vicious counter right, which dazzled the rival. It was followed by a heavy right to the jaw which sent Whittaker down. Previously, Adesanya received one straight jab, but remained at his feet, managing to use the exposed sides of his opponent.
“He caught me with a nice one, but I returned,” Adesanya said. “I eat it, but give it back two times. That’s a two-piece right there. I can take it and give it back. He’s right, I hate to get hit. It’s stupid to get hit. I’m tough and smart. At the end of the day, my team and I were smart.”
He was mentioned his team and tactics on several occasions after the match. It seems that the trainers and scouts in the environment did an excellent job studying Whittaker’s characteristics and his strategy. Eventually, Adesanya stated that he foresaw everything, which is why he became the undisputed champ.
“He threw everything we expected,” Adesanya said. “We had everything planned for plan A to Z. It’s unreal.”
The first sequence was interesting, as Whittaker had several blitzes that did reach the Nigerian, but couldn’t create any particular damage. In the last moments of the round, Adesanya dropped the Australian on the canvas hitting him hard, but the bell prevented him from finishing the job.
The second round had the same scenario, with Whittaker trying to blitz Adesanya, who defended well using his long reach. It seems that he waited for the chance to see his rival exposed and to hit hard.
Whittaker, who experienced the loss for the first time since 2014, congratulated the new champ, saying that he was the better man today and that he deserved the belt.
“My hat is off to Adesanya,” the no-nonsense Whitaker said. “He’s very strong, I thought I was doing well, and then I got caught.”
Adesanya has his eyes already on another victim. He wants to prove his domination against the no.1 contender in his division, Paulo Costa. And he didn’t choose any words while calling out the Brazilian fighter.
“You know who’s next,” Adesanya said. “I have a heavy, Ricky Martin wannabe next. ‘Borrachinha.’ This is my Octagon. I’m going to smash him. I want to rearrange his face.”
As for Whittaker, he will likely have to go through at least two or three bouts before getting the chance to regain his belt.
