UFC Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, successfully defended his title after defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC271 last night. Both men were on their feet till the last second, but Adesanya was clearly impressive and won the unanimous vote from the judges.

This was the second time both men were meeting themselves at the octagon, and Adesanya has emerged as the winner twice. After the fight, Whittaker said that he was sure he was the better man on the ring and deserved the vote of the judges, and hinted that a third fight between him and Adesanya seemed inevitable.

Throughout the fight, Adesanya never attempted a knockout. He was very content with dominating Whittaker without any major damage. The first round of the fight portrayed Adesanya in the light what being a true champion really is. He did not let Whittaker feel safe nor allow him to land any good punch. Adesanya quickly dominated him both physically and mentally, and Whittaker looked exhausted at the end of the first round.

But Adesanya decided that he was not going to let his opponent of easily and allowed him fight till the last second, without making any major damage. This is how some of his recent fights have been. It might take a while before we see him score a knockout win since he is comfortable with his current style.

His performance at UFC 271 was very different from when he faced Whittaker for the first time in 2019, where he knocked Whittaker out in less than four minutes of the second round. It may also mean that Whittaker has evolved as a fighter and is not someone that can be knocked out as easily as he used to. But he still did not win back the Middleweight champion title from Izzy. Maybe a third fight would happen, as Whittaker has suggested. But Adesanya has also said that he is looking forward to ‘fresh meat’, which means he would not be fighting any old opponents for a while.

Written by: Leon Osamor