UFC

2022 - 2 - 12

Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 - UFC 271

Israel Adesanya outpoints Robert Whittaker in unanimous decision ... (ESPN)

Israel Adesanya got a stiff challenge from Robert Whittaker in their rematch but came away with a unanimous decision to retain his UFC crown.

"The Reaper," a former Ultimate Fighter winner, was the UFC's first-ever Australian champion. "My mission stays the same. "We're just two guys trying to be the best in the world," Adesanya said. Whittaker showed a nice left hook and uppercut in the second round, while Adesanya continued to torture Whittaker's leg with kicks plus a nice punching combo at the start of the frame. Adesanya (22-1) stopped Whittaker via second-round knockout at UFC 243 in October 2019 to win the title. Late in the first, Adesanya dropped an off-balance Whittaker with a left hand. He beat up Whittaker's left leg with kicks and kept Whittaker on the end of his striking attacks, not letting the challenger get close enough to land anything of significance. "He did not win that fight, and he knows it," Adesanya said. "Good night in the office. Whittaker said afterward he believed he "did enough" to win. But the fight was incredibly close -- so much so that the crowd booed the decision, thinking Whittaker was the rightful winner. Adesanya did defeat Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night at Toyota Center. Adesanya did indeed leave the Octagon with his middleweight belt, using his length and reach to counter Whittaker's boxing.

A legendary UFC run has Israel Adesanya in rare company (unknown)

A legendary UFC run has Israel Adesanya in rare company · Israel Adesanya. Nigerian-born New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter · Anderson ...

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U.F.C. 271: Israel Adesanya Extends Reign Over Robert Whittaker (The New York Times)

With a new contract in hand, Israel Adesanya outclassed Robert Whittaker in U.F.C. 271. It was his fourth successful defense of the title he won from ...

“He’s the champ — he continues to win, and that’s how it works,” White said. “All the way to the last bell, I knew he was dangerous.” “You’re not going to pay money to watch my pay-per-view, but you’re going to pay attention. At the news conference, White reiterated his hope to stage an event in Africa at some point. “But tonight I’m the best in the world.” The bout ended when Tuivasa landed an elbow to Lewis’s face, knocking him unconscious and sending him to the mat face first. I thought I did enough.” Adesanya landed 98 strikes, compared with 74 for Whittaker, who also sported a bright red welt on the inside of his left thigh, where Adesanya had kicked him repeatedly. It was his fourth successful defense of the title he won from Whittaker in October 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. It was his fourth successful defense of the title he won from Whittaker in 2019. Adesanya wanted to use his fast hands and high-impact kicks to keep Whittaker at a distance. As the headliner, Adesanya’s guarantee, according to published reports, was $1 million.

UFC 271 results, highlights: Israel Adesanya outpoints Robert ... (CBSSports.com)

'The Last Stylebender' took care of business on Saturday night in Houston to keep his middleweight crown.

Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Adesanya landed his own leg kicks while feinting and trying to keep Whittaker off-balance. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Adesanya (29-28) Robert Whittaker -- Round 2: Whittaker missed with a high kick early in the round. Robert Whittaker -- Round 3: A cautious start to the round from both men before Adesanya landed a heavy kick to the body. - Israel Adesanya (c) def. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Adesanya (39-37) Whittaker kept him pinned to the cage, grinding away and trying to grapple before Adesanya broke free. Whittaker blocked a high kick and slid out of the way of a leg kick. Whittaker landed a good left hand on the break after failing to get the fight back to the ground. As the fight looked like it would quickly get out of hand for Whittaker and possibly end in a replay of the second-round TKO from the pair's UFC 243 clash, Whittaker managed to regain his confidence in Round 2, landing punches and scoring with a takedown to have his first truly positive moments in his rivalry with the champion. After being dominated by Israel Adesanya in their 2019 meeting, Robert Whittaker entered UFC 271 on Saturday night knowing he had a very difficult puzzle to solve if he wanted to regain the middleweight championship.

Israel Adesanya continues to win, but the road to catching Anderson Silva will be long (unknown)

Adesanya, the Nigeria-born New Zealander's tight but unanimous decision victory over Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night in Houston was his fourth defense of the title. That breaks a tie with Chris Weidman for the second most times a ...

But on Saturday night the champ showed again that he has the ingredients necessary to fuel his ride down that road. Adesanya was more steadfast on Saturday than he was on the night of his first meeting with Whittaker. That time, he put on a flashier show -- even before the knockout that earned him the belt. If Adesanya instead chooses to remain at 185 for the long haul, he's going to need dance partners to continue to enhance his résumé there. His grand entrance to the Octagon, and becoming champ in just his second trip inside that cage. The champ never allowed the fight to stray from his comfort zone, because he kept himself comfortable everywhere the fight went. Adesanya, the Nigeria-born New Zealander's tight but unanimous decision victory over Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night in Houston was his fourth defense of the title.

6 Fights We Need to See After UFC 271 (unknown)

Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier. 1 of 7. Josh Hedges/Getty Images. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya picked up his fourth ...

It was one of the best fights of 2022 so far—and one of the most impressive comebacks in recent memory. The Tennesseean was also in action on the UFC 271 undercard, knocking Leomana Martinez down three times en route to a lopsided unanimous-decision victory. He spent the majority of Round 1 absorbing a heinous beating and was a bloody mess by the time he returned to his stool. The Dana White 's Contender Series product is now 8-1 overall, with two impressive wins in the UFC, and ready for another step up. It was the kind of win that should set O'Neill up for a big fight at flyweight. From here, we'd like to see him matched up with the winner of a UFC 274 fight between Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Blagoy Ivanov, the latter of whom is currently ranked No. 13 at heavyweight. We'd like to see her matched up with Cynthia Calvillo. The No. 10 contender was previously seen as a potential title challenger at both strawweight and flyweight but has since fallen on hard times, losing consecutive fights to Katlyn Chookagian, Jessica Andrade, and Andrea Lee—the latter two by way of stoppage. It was the 43-year-old's 37th fight in a UFC Octagon, and his third consecutive win. The division's reigning champion, Francis Ngannou, is currently embroiled in a heated contract dispute with the UFC and seemingly has no intention of fighting anytime soon, meaning the title is effectively out of play at the moment. It would have seemed unfathomable at several previous points in his career, but he's suddenly on the cusp of the heavyweight Top 15 once again. They're both on two-fight win streaks and closing in on the lightweight Top 15. This time around, the result was the same, but not the method, as Adesanya scraped by Whittaker with a hard-fought unanimous decision.