Heading into his middleweight title defense against Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya was 21-0, competing at 185 pounds.
You can now make it 22-0 as Adesanya defeated a game Whittaker to win the rematch by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the middleweight championship from the Toyota Center in Houston. DAZN News scored the fight 49-46 for Whittaker. However, during his post-fight interview, the crowd let Adesanya know that they weren't happy with the judges scorecards.
“I knew he was going to bring everything cause last time I took everything away from him,” Adesanya said to Daniel Cormier after the fight. “So he had nothing to lose. Like I said, I’m the champ. You want it, come get it.”
The opening round looked like it would be a repeat of their first meeting at UFC 243 when Adesanya knocked out Whittaker in the second. Adesanya began the fight by switching stances and thrashing Whittaker's leg with various kicks. He nearly ended the fight one round earlier this time around as he dropped Whittaker with a solid left hand. But Whittaker quickly gathered his bearings and made it back to his feet. Whittaker attempted a series of takedowns in desperation. Adesanya blocked them with relative ease. When the stanza came to a close, Whittaker was discouraged and had the look of someone who was about to be put out of his misery.
Whittaker, though started to get into a bit of a rhythm as the fight went on. He threw and connected with more volume, especially with the left hand. The native of Australia also started using his ground attack to get Adesanya down. But, to his credit, Adesanya would quickly make it back to his feet and continue to assault Whittaker's leg.
“I knew he was going to try and copy Jan [Blachowicz’s] homework,” Adesanya said about Whittaker’s takedowns. “But I’m the big dog in this yard, so he couldn’t take me down at all.”
In the fifth and final round, Adesanya stayed aggressive while Whittaker looked to be content on the outside, willing to counter whatever was thrown his way. Unfortunately, that strategy wasn't good enough in the eyes of the judges to wrest the title from "The Last Style Bender". Even though the judges felt he didn't do enough to win, "The Reaper" didn't see their viewpoint.
“I know I started off rocky in that first round, but I feel like I took every round after that,” Whittaker said. “What do they say? Don’t leave it to the judges. I’m happy that I fought my heart out. I’m gutted. I thought I did enough. I thought I took that.
“I was surprised with the decision. It is what it is. I’m not going to take anything away from him. He’s the champ. He beat me for the second time. We’re the two best in the world. I know this. He knows this. We know this.”
What is next for Adesanya? He's looking for a quick return against a new contender.
“I know June doesn’t have a pay-per-view yet, but I’m the big dog in the yard now, and I know the other dog Jared Cannonier just did some work tonight,” Adesanya said. “So yeah, I’m pissing in this cage next time in June. Watch me.”
Here is what happened at UFC 271.