UFC 243: A look at Israel Adesanya's rise to the top

#2 Going five rounds – TUF 27 Finale

In his first UFC main event, Adesanya battered veteran Brad Tavares

Israel Adesanya showed some weaknesses in his debut fight with Rob Wilkinson, namely the fact that an opponent could neutralise him somewhat by utilising the clinch. His second opponent, Italy’s Marvin Vettori, almost took full advantage of that and took the Stylebender to a split decision that some fans felt Vettori deserved to win. Adesanya was given the nod, but for many observers, the bloom was off his rose.

That wasn’t the case for the UFC, though, as they booked Adesanya in his first main event just three months after the Vettori fight, matching him with longtime veteran Brad Tavares. Hawaii’s Tavares wasn’t known for having exciting fights, but he was on a 4 fight winning streak and with his powerful grappling style, seemed like a tough match for Adesanya on paper.

After a tricky first-round though, ‘The Last Stylebender’ turned up the heat on Tavares and left no question as to who the better fighter was. Tavares hung tough and was able to last the distance, but Adesanya used his pinpoint striking to batter the Hawaiian from pillar to post across five rounds, never allowing Tavares to hit him cleanly due to his expert control of range.

Tavares had been beaten before – Robert Whittaker had knocked him out in 2015 in fact – but nobody had outclassed the Hawaiian quite like this since his fight with Yoel Romero. After this one there could be no doubt – Adesanya was for real.