5 Defining Moments: Israel Adesanya

A comet streaks across the mixed martial arts sky every so often and alters the landscape of the sport forever. Israel Adesanya serves as a prime example.

The New Zealand-based Nigerian kickboxer entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship a little more than two years ago as an unbeaten but unproven commodity. Adesanya has since rattled off eight consecutive victories, improved to 19-0 overall and ascended to the top of the 185-pound weight class, his stock rising with each performance inside the Octagon. The 30-year-old City Kickboxing star last fought at UFC 248 on March 7, when he retained the undisputed middleweight championship with a unanimous decision over 2000 Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero.

As defining moments continue to pile up for Adesanya, here are five that stand out:

1. First Impression

The Glory Kickboxing alum put away Rob Wilkinson with knees and punches in the second round of their undercard tilt at 185 pounds, as he made a successful debut at UFC 221 on Feb. 10, 2018 in Perth, Australia. Wilkinson withered, as Adesanya’s measured and methodical approach exacted its toll. Wilkinson spent much of the first round whiffing on takedowns and attempting to bully the promotional newcomer in the clinch. His efforts proved fruitless. Adesanya blasted him with knees to the face and stiff jabs, all while focusing on the body with damaging combinations. He broke the battered and bloodied Wilkinson’s will along the fence and cut loose with knees and punches until it was over 3:37 into Round 2.

2. A Contender’s Arrival

Adesanya’s hype train picked up speed when he breezed through what was at the time most significant test to date, slicing and dicing Brad Tavares to a unanimous decision in “The Ultimate Fighter 27” Finale main event on July 6, 2018 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Scores of 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45 confirmed the arrival of a new contender at 185 pounds. Adesanya connected with nearly three times as many total strikes (127-46) and significant strikes (119-40) as the Hawaiian across the 25-minute confrontation. Perhaps most impressively, he denied all but one of Tavares’ 12 takedown attempts. Adesanya left the Xtreme Couture mainstay in a compromised state in the fourth round, where he opened a gruesome horizontal cut below his right eyebrow with a standing elbow. For Tavares, it will serve as a permanent reminder of his encounter with “The Last Stylebender.”

3. Youth Served

Though it lacked the finality for which many had hoped, Adesanya cleared the final hurdle standing between him and a shot at the middleweight crown and did so with room to spare. “The Last Stylebender” poked, prodded and outmaneuvered the great Anderson Silva for the better part of three rounds and took a unanimous decision from the future hall of famer in the UFC 234 headliner on Feb. 9, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. All three judges sided with heavily favored Adesanya: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27. Silva made headway in the second round and showed flashes of his former self before his younger, faster adversary reclaimed control. Adesanya doubled up “The Spider” in the significant strikes landed department and found another gear when it mattered most. He outlanded Silva by a 25-5 margin in the third round, removing any thoughts of an upset.

4. Epic Encounter

Adesanya captured the interim middleweight championship with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner Kelvin Gastelum in an electrifying UFC 236 co-main event on April 13, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. “The Last Stylebender” emerged as the last man standing in what was widely hailed as the “Fight of the Year.” Their 25-minute engagement was marked by wild shifts in momentum. Gastelum drew first blood in the first round, where he had the City Kickboxing standout reeling with a sneaky but powerful right hook. Adesanya answered in the second, first with a chopping right hand that resulted in a knockdown and later with a spinning back elbow that revved the crowd’s engines. As they headed to the championship rounds, it appeared to be anyone’s fight. Gastelum opened a cut under the New Zealand-based kickboxer’s right eye and staggered him badly with a head kick, driving forward with punches in a bid to finish late in Round 4. Still, Adesanya refused to wilt. He did his best work over the final five minutes, as he threatened Gastelum with a standing guillotine, transitioned to a triangle choke and scrambled to his feet. Adesanya knocked down the fading Kings MMA rep three times in the last half of the fifth round and was closing in on a stoppage when the horn sounded, an audible buzz rippling through the audience.

5. King of the Middleweights

When Adesanya entered first set foot in the UFC, there seemed to be far more hype associated with him than substance. “The Last Stylebender” has since silenced such skepticism. Adesanya arrived at the summit as the undisputed middleweight champion with his second-round stoppage of pound-for-pound stalwart Robert Whittaker in the UFC 243 headliner on Oct. 5, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia, where a record crowd of 57,127 witnessed his coronation at Marvel Stadium. Whittaker bowed out 3:33 into Round 2, his reign atop the 185-pound weight class at an end after 660 days. Adesanya allowed “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” winner to lead the dance for much of the first round, then turned his aggression against him. Whittaker wandered into a counter right hand in the closing seconds of the opening period, hit the deck and might have met his demise there if not for the bell. Adesanya rattled him again early in the second round and later engaged him at close range in the center of the cage, uncorking a compact counter left hook that connected on the chin. Whittaker collapsed to the canvas, where a short burst of follow-up punches resulted in the stoppage.