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Israel Adesanya will look to become the undisputed Middleweight champion of the world when he faces current division king, Robert Whittaker, in the main event of UFC 243 this Saturday night (Oct. 5, 2019) in Melbourne, Australia.
Israel quickly rose the ranks after a stellar start to his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, going 11-0 on the regional circuit before getting the call up to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Once there, he won four straight in just 10 months to earn his much-desired showdown against one of the all-time greats, Anderson Silva.
The two men threw down in February of this year in the main event of UFC 234, also in Melbourne. The fight was subbed as old vs new, though it was very clear that the two men’s styles were very similar giving their striking expertise.
But just as Israel was compared to Jon Jones, he was also compared to Silva, the former pound-for-pound great and ex-division king.
Once the fight ended, the two men were content with letting the fight play out on the feet to prove who the better striker of the two was. For five rounds, they each traded blows and taunting antics, much to the delight of the crowd. In the end, Adesanya earned himself a unanimous decision win against one of the best to ever do it, signifying perhaps a passing of the torch.
Of course, if we are “keeping it 100,” Silva hasn’t exactly been the killer he was early on as of late, as he was a mere 1-4 going into that fight. That said he did show flashes of his old self during the bout. And at the end of the day, Adesanya did what he had to do to get a win, and went on to win the interim straight soon thereafter by defeating Kelvin Gastelum.
Now, “The Last Stylebender” will look to collect his biggest win to date by taking out “Bobby Knuckles” in his own backyard.