February 13, (THEWILL) – In their rematch at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday, Israel Adesanya retained the UFC Middleweight Championship, by winning a unanimous decision bout against Robert Whittaker.
While the battle was more close than the first, Adesanya’s skills to control space, counter strike, and defensive wrestling proved too much for the challenger.
Adesanya turned the pre-fight glove touch into a game of rock-paper-scissors, to lighten the mood. But, in the real battle, Adesanya gained the lead early. In the first round, he pounded Whittaker with leg kicks and knocked him down with a perfect left straight.
Whittaker’s failure to close the distance safely was a recurring theme in the early stages. In Round 2, Whittaker was able to secure a takedown, but it did not take long for The Last Stylebender to work his way back to his feet.
As the bout progressed, the major narrative was Adesanya’s ability to control where the fight took place. When Whittaker doubled up his jab, he had some success, but Adesanya countered most of his attacks with a crisp counter-punch.
For a brief moment in Round 4, the edge shifted to Whittaker. He was able to take advantage of an Adesanya blunder to take his back and attempt a standing rear-naked choke, but he was unsuccessful.
For the most part, Adesanya had the upper hand, but the rounds were close enough together that the judges might have come up with some fascinating results but they scored the rounds rather fairly as Adesanya retained his middleweight crown.
The victory adds to his long list of victories over Whittaker. At 185 pounds, he won the title from Bobby Knuckles. He has now added his challenger to the list of contenders, who have failed to take his title nearly two and a half years later.
The victory brings The Last Stylebender’s week to a close. His management team announced on Wednesday that he has signed a new deal with the UFC. Adesanya is well aware of the value he contributes to the organisation. His Nigerian and New Zealand heritage give him international appeal, and he wanted to make sure that his worth was recognised.
In his post-match remarks, the champion noted: “The thing I want to know is, what’s my value to the company. You can’t undersell my value, if you are, you’re kidding yourself. I bring so many different looks to this company.”
Above all, Adesanya provides the UFC with a dominant champion with a fan-friendly approach. He may have fallen short in his attempt to become a two-division champion against Jan Blachowicz, but there is no denying his status as the sport’s top 185-pounder right now.
Outside of Jared Cannonier, he now has one or more wins versus everyone in the top five of the division.
Since his first loss to Adesanya, Whittaker had won three straight fights but he came up short again trying to dethrone the Nigerian/New Zealander, popularly known as “Izzy”, a shortened nickname from his forename Israel.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
