Highlights! ‘Last Stylebender’ Ends Whittaker To Become Champ

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Israel Adesanya proved to be championship worthy last night (Sat., Oct. 5, 2019) at UFC 243 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, when he dissected UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker en route to a second-round knockout finish to claim the undisputed 185-pound crown.

It was a back-and-forth first round but Adesanya landed at a better percentage. He even connected with a huge right counter at the bell that sent the champ to the canvas. Whittaker recovered in between rounds and landed heavy punches early in the second. Adesanya launched a right hook counter that hurt Whittaker and bloodied him even more. Whittaker still pressed the action until Adesnaya came back with a huge left hook counter to level “Reaper” and send him flying to the canvas. Adesnaya followed suit with nasty ground-and-pound for the knockout stoppage.

Check out the highlights above and below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

With this performance, Adesanya improves his undefeated MMA record to 18-0 (7-0 UFC) and cements one of the quickest rises to stardom in recent memory. “Last Stylebender” had to absorb some damage to get his hands on Whittaker last night, but Adesanya’s return shots were much more devastating. In the end, the better striker won the fight and walked away with the UFC middleweight championship.

Look for Adesanya to defend his newly-acquired belt next against undefeated Brazilian contender Paulo Costa, who is coming off a memorable decision win over Yoel Romero at UFC 241.

For complete UFC 243 results and coverage click here.