Overview
Israel Adesanya arrived in the UFC as a kickboxing world champion with creativity and expressiveness that hadn't been seen in the cage before. His middleweight title reign included some of the most technically dominant championship performances in divisional history. The run ended when Alex Pereira followed him to the UFC and finished him again, and later Khamzat Chimaev took the title from Du Plessis. Adesanya remains one of the most significant middleweights of his generation.
Career Highlights
- Two-time UFC Middleweight Champion
- 11-fight unbeaten run to start UFC career
- Fought Anderson Silva in a respectful symbolic contest
- KO'd Robert Whittaker in R2 at UFC 243 (first title defense)
- Multiple-time kickboxing world champion
Signature Moves
- 01Southpaw rear straight (left hand)
- 02Lead leg side kick
- 03360 spinning back kick
- 04Counter left hand from lean-back
Biggest Wins
WIN #1
Robert Whittaker — KO R2, UFC 243 (won title) / Decision, UFC 271
WIN #2
Kelvin Gastelum — Decision, UFC 236 (won interim title)
WIN #3
Jared Cannonier — Decision, UFC 276
WIN #4
Anderson Silva — Decision, UFC 234
THE DAD TAKE
Adesanya is the kid who came in with the most interesting style in the room and backed it up. The anime references, the character, the creativity -- it's all real. Two-time champion, all-time great. The Pereira losses are part of the story too. Not every great career ends on a high note.
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