Welcome to the Israel Adesanya era.
Tonight in Melbourne, Australia, Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker in the second round to claim the undisputed middleweight champion with a stunning performance.
In the first, Whittaker looked to close the gap and land big shots immediately, applying pressure to stop Adesanya from finding his rhythm. But, while Whittaker had some success, at the very last moment of the round Adesanya landed a peach of a right hand that sent the champion crashing to the canvas.
While the bell kept Whittaker in the contest, Adesanya continued on in the second, got into a big exchange and found a left hook counter that brought the bout to an end.
“I’m real petty. I remember everything like an elephant. I was in the nose bleeds and now I made his nose bleed,” Adesanya said in his post fight interview. “He threw everything we expected. We had everything planned for plan A to Z. it‘s unreal. They said I have no knockout power. He caught me with a nice one, but I returned. 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.
“You know who’s next. 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.”
BIG DRAMA IN MELBOURNE #UFC243@stylebender knocks Whittaker down at the horn in Round 1 pic.twitter.com/jO6csHP5A6
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 6, 2019
Naija stand up! HE'S DONE IT!@Stylebender finishes Whittaker in the 2nd round! Wow! #UFC243 pic.twitter.com/IS1f8lL8Lt
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2019
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