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#2. Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 1 – UFC 243
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker squared off in the main event of UFC 243 in October 2019. Whittaker was coming off back-to-back decision victories over Yoel Romero while Adesanya won the interim belt following a five-round war with Kelvin Gastelum.
UFC 243 holds the UFC record for highest attendance to this day. The event, which took place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, had an attendance of 57,127. A stadium mostly filled with Aussies who came to watch Whittaker, the Australian champion, defend his belt. The then-champion clearly felt the pressure of the situation.
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Adesanya knocked Whittaker down in the dying seconds of the first round after 'The Reaper' got off to an uncharacteristically aggressive start to the fight. 'The Last Stylebender' stunned the crowd in attendance and fans around the world with a sensational second-round KO victory to become the new undisputed champion at 185 lbs.
Israel Adesanya's KO triumph over Robert Whittaker marked the dawn of a new era in the UFC middleweight division. The middleweight strap had changed hands numerous times before UFC 243, with the likes of Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, Georges St-Pierre and Robert Whittaker all holding the belt at some point over a four-year period.
Watch highlights from the fight below:
Following his win, Adesanya vowed to remain active as the 185 lbs king. He called out top contender Paulo Costa in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik.
Watch Israel Adesanya's post-fight interview with Jon Anik below:
#1. Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa – UFC 253
Israel Adesanya's best performance in the UFC came in his second title defense. The Kiwi took on Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC 253 on Fight Island, Abu Dhabi.
Going into the bout, UFC president Dana White claimed on numerous occasions that the fight would be a 'Fight of the Year' contender. Both Adesanya and Costa were undefeated stand-up fighters going into the bout and there was a ton of bad blood between them as well. The matchup had all the makings of an instant classic.
However, Adesanya seemingly didn't get the memo and absolutely demolished Costa in under two rounds. 'The Last Stylebender' picked apart the powerful Brazilian with surgical precision en route to a comfortable TKO victory. 'Borrachinha' barely landed a strike on his Kiwi counterpart.
Adesanya's flawless performance led many to say that he would remain the middleweight champion for many years to come.
His reputation as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world skyrocketed, so much so that he earned a direct shot at the light heavyweight title soon after the victory over Costa.
Israel Adesanya advanced his professional MMA record to 20-0 with his victory at UFC 253. Interestingly, it was the 100th victory of his professional combat sports career, having secured wins in kickboxing and boxing prior to joining the UFC.
He remains one of the most decorated combat sports athletes on the planet to this day.
