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Tag: Israel Adesanya

  • UFC: Pereira knocks out Adesanya to claim middleweight title belt

    UFC: Pereira knocks out Adesanya to claim middleweight title belt

    The Brazillian Alexandro Pereira  surprisingly pulled out  from a looming defeat to snatch a victory from the jaws of death by knocking out Israel Adesanya in the final round to claim another knockout defeat on his opponent.

    Adesanya was seeking revenge after losing two fights to Pereira in kickboxing back in 2016 and 2017.

    Pereira scored a come-from-behind victory against Adesanya at UFC 281 on Saturday night to become the new UFC middleweight champion inside Madison Square Garden.

    The Brazilian UFC fighter has now ended Adesanya’s reign as the UFC middleweight champion.

    Adesanya fought a near-perfect fight. He had Pereira out on his feet at the end of Round 1, but the Brazilian returned the favour in Round 5 to snatch it.

     

    How it happened at Madisson Square

    Just before the end of the first round, Adesanya landed he huge shot that send Pereira to the ground but time was over.

    Pereira bounced back well in Round 2. It was a competitive, if unspectacular, round that likely went in the challenger’s favor.

    Adesanya scored the first takedown of his 14-fight UFC career in Round 3 and decisively controlled Pereira for the remainder of the round. Adesanya fatigued Pereira with pressure, ground-and-pound and a pretty axe-kick at the end of Round 3.

    Adesanya exerted himself in the third round pinning Pereira down landing punches from several directions

    Pereira was noticeably labored in Round 4 and his output was severely limited. Adesanya was defensively sound, picking away at his opponent in a round that was clearly his. Pereira’s corner implored him to find the finish in

    Round 5, aware that Adesanya likely had a 3-1 lead on the judges’ scorecards. The UFC broadcast confirmed post-fight that Adesanya was up on all three judges’ scorecards heading into the final frame.

    In the fifth round, Pereira knocked the Nigerian out. Adesanya was likely up on the scorecards, three rounds to one, when he slipped in the middle of the octagon.

    He tried to recover but it was the beginning of the end. As Adesanya retreated to the fence, Pereira followed and peppered him with punches to the face, stunning him and nearly knocking him unconscious.

    Referee Marc Goddard ended the fight as Adesanya’s body went limp, though Adesanya protested the stoppage as he attempted to regain his composure.

    Pereira has now ended Adesanya’s reign as the undisputed UFC middleweight fighter but a rematch is likely to happen as included in the clause.

     

  • Israel Adesanya beats Cannonier, retains UFC middleweight title

    Nigerian born UFC fighter Israel Adesanya has retained his middleweight title with an effortless victory over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.  He  defeated his opponent  via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) to retain the UFC middleweight championship.

    Adesanya unified the middleweight title with his first win over Robert Whittaker in 2019 with the only blotch on his record since his defeat by then light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz two years later. Cannonier, meanwhile, had won five of his previous six fights with victories over Kelvin Gastelum and Derek Brunson securing his shot at the title.

    In his post match interview, Adesanya revealed that his opponent had a good game but met a stiffer opposition in him.

    “He had an excellent gameplan; it was really hard to get my follow-ups going, my second phases going,” reflected the champion before calling out bitter rival Alex Pereira who holds two wins over the champion, albeit in the kickboxing ranks. “You know who’s next,” continued Adesanya. “The first time, I told you, was an error on my part. Next time I put you on skates, you’re going to be frozen.”

    The UFC fighter who is popularly known as Izzy defeated Robert Whittaker and unified UFC titles available in his category in 2022.

    He has successfully defended his title four times since then. On an otherwise perfect record for Adesanya (22-1), his only loss was during his unsuccessful step up to light heavyweight, losing to then-champion Jan Blachowicz

    Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya is a Nigerian-born New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines

  • Why I don’t touch gloves before UFC fights – Israel Adesanya

    Why I don’t touch gloves before UFC fights – Israel Adesanya

    UFC champion, Israel Adesanya has explained the reason why he doesn’t touch opponents’ gloves at the start of every fight.

    Middleweight Adesanya usually puts his hand on top of his opponent’s fist instead of touching gloves. ‘The Last Stylebender’ said this is a strategic way to not give his opponent any indication of his range before the fight starts.

    “I don’t touch gloves, when the fight starts I don’t touch gloves,” Adesanya said on ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. “That’s the first point of contact, you establish the range right away. I don’t want to touch gloves, I’ll establish the range my own way, I don’t want to give them an inch at all.

    Adesanya defended his title at UFC 271 in February by outpointing former champion Robert Whittaker in their rematch.

    According to Mirror, the build-up to the rematch was very different to their first fight, with Whittaker admitting he acted “out of character” by trying to rile Adesanya up before the title bout.

     

  • I Thought I would Defeat Israel Adesanya To Claim The UFC Middleweight Belt – Whitetaker

    I Thought I would Defeat Israel Adesanya To Claim The UFC Middleweight Belt – Whitetaker

    Nigerian born Israel Adesanya retained his middleweight title at UFC 271 in Houston, Texas by defeating Australian, Robert Whittaker on Sunday

    The reigning UFC middleweight champion won via a unanimous decision after five rounds in his fourth consecutive title defense in front of 6,000 fans packed into the Toyota Center

    The final scorecards read 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 with Adesanya moving to 22-1 in his career with the victory.

    ISRAEL ADESANYA VS ROBERT WHITETAKER

     

    Adesanya outlanded Whittaker 79-59 in significant strikes, according to UFC Stats. But Whittaker landed more significant strikes to the head, 38-36, with Adesanya outlanding Whittaker in strikes to the legs, 29-13. Whittaker landed four takedowns, which matched Marvin Vettori for the most by any opposing fighter against Adesanya in the UFC, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

    Coming in, ESPN had Adesanya ranked No. 2 and Whittaker ranked No. 9 on its MMA pound-for-pound rankings. At middleweight, Adesanya was No. 1 and Whittaker No. 2.

    I thought I had defeated Israel Adesanya -Robert Whitetaker

    Robert Whittaker has regretted his defeat to Israel Adesanya in their UFC 271 encounter.

    Whittaker came into the challenge to regain the middleweight championship he lost to Adesanya in 2019.

    But he came up short as Adesanya retained the title via unanimous decision in the highly competitive fight.

    Adesanya’s jabs and heavy leg kicks piled up points as he took the decision by scores of 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46.

    The win over Whittaker was Adesanya’s fourth defense of the middleweight championship since winning the belt in the first meeting with Whittaker.

    For Whittaker, who had a three-fight winning streak snapped, the loss was a tough pill to swallow.

    https://punchng.com/breaking-israel-adesanya-beats-whittaker-to-retain-ufc-middleweight-belt/?utm_source=top-story&utm_medium=web

    MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 6: in their middleweight title bout during the UFC 243 event at Marvel Stadium on October 6, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

    “Yeah, I did [think I won the fight],” Whittaker said.

    “I know I started off rocky in the first round but I felt like I took everyone after that. It is what it is. As they say, don’t leave it in the hands of the judges. I’m gutted. I’m gutted. I thought I did enough.”

  • UFC 271: Israel Adesanya retains middleweight title after Whittaker win

    UFC 271: Israel Adesanya retains middleweight title after Whittaker win

    Israel Adesanya has defeated Robert Whittaker with a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

    Sunday’s result was a far cry from their first meeting, when Adesanya secured a second-round KO of Whittaker at UFC 243 in October 2019.

    “I knew he was gonna bring everything because last time I took everything away from him,” Adesanya said. “And he had nothing to lose. Like I said, I’m the champ. If you want it, come get it.”

    Adesanya started brightly in the opening round when he repeatedly chopped away at Whittaker’s leg with low kicks and sat him down with a laser straight left.

    While it briefly seemed as though a rout might be underway, Whittaker displayed his resolve over the course of the fight, attacking with left jabs and left hooks while effectively blending in takedowns and clinch work.

    Although “The Reaper” couldn’t keep Adesanya down for any significant period of time, the different aspects of his offence were enough to make the fight interesting.

    “I know I started off rocky in the first round, but I feel like I took every round after that,” Whittaker said. “I’m happy that I fought my heart out and I left it here. I thought I did enough (to win).”

    In the end, Adesanya saw off the fight with his varied striking and cage control, as he continued his assault on Whittaker’s legs throughout the contest while blending other attacks when the opportunity arose.

    Adesanya having taken Whittaker off his way is now targeting a June fight against Jared Cannonier, who defeated Derek Brunson in one of the earlier fights before his own headline contest.

  • BREAKING: Israel Adesanya defeats Marvin Vettori to retain middleweight title

    BREAKING: Israel Adesanya defeats Marvin Vettori to retain middleweight title

    Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya has retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight belt after defeating Italian contender, Marvin Vettori, at the Gila River Arena in Arizona on Sunday.

    He won via a unanimous decision – (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).

    It is the second time both fighters faced themselves in the UFC with Adesanya running out victorious via split decision in their first meeting in April 2018, which was the Nigerian’s second outing in the UFC franchise.

    Both fighters have had heated conversations on social media and during press conferences but Adesanya had said he was ready to defend his title and rule the middleweight division after failing to secure the light heavyweight title from Poland’s Jan Blachowicz last March.

    He earlier promised to send the Italian to the floor in the second round but the fight ended at Round five.

    Vettori attempted to make history early Sunday morning as he looks to dethrone Nigerian Israel Adesanya to become Italy’s first UFC titleholder.

    Vettori, ranked third in the division, has won five straight bouts leading into this championship tussle.

    Vettori is unofficially nicknamed “Angry Marvin” appropriately as he brings an aggressive, bar-room-brawling stand-up style to his fights. His footwork and movement are choppy, forcing him to rely on his power and belligerent forward pressure as opposed to any fluidity of movement or defensive evasiveness.

    Adesanya entered the fight off a March loss to Blachowicz in a battle for Blachowicz’s light heavyweight title.

  • BREAKING: Israel Adesanya embarrasses Paulo Costa with TKO in second round

    BREAKING: Israel Adesanya embarrasses Paulo Costa with TKO in second round

    Israel Adesanya once again proved his dominance in the middleweight division with a second-round Technical Knockout (TKO) win over Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC 253 on Saturday.

    The champion was in the driver’s seat for the first round. Costa showed some patience in waiting to commit to an attack but Adesanya took advantage of that wait-and-see approach by peppering him with leg kicks.

    Costa was more interested in goading Adesanya into throwing more than actually throwing much himself.

    The second round featured a more aggressive Adesanya and that was all kinds of bad news for the Eraser. The Last Stylebender opened up, continued to mercilessly attack the lead leg while also throwing head kicks. When he targeted the head with punches Costa quickly buckled and the champion added another successful title defense to his name.

    It was as baffling a performance for Paulo Costa as it was a great performance for Adesanya. The champion was surely dominant but Costa’s lack of activity and inability to mount any offense had analysts wondering what happened to the Borrachina that mowed over each of his opponents to this point.

    Adesanya has already made quick work of a loaded middleweight division. His list of wins includes Anderson Silva (albeit an older version of The Spider), Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero. There are some highly ranked contenders out there, but only one has the champion’s eye right now.