Nigerian, Israel Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC271) to retain the middleweight crown.
Adesanya and his arch-rival, Whittaker, clashed for the second time at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Sunday morning.
The fight is Adesanya’s fourth title defence after wins against Yoel Romero, Paolo Costa and Marvin Vettori.
Adesanya emerged victorious in their first fight at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia in 2019 to claim the middleweight title and he is confident of retaining the belt against a much improved Whittaker.
Adesanya scored a thunderous second-round knockout of Whittaker in Melbourne, Australia to claim the title in October 2019 to cap an amazing run in just his seventh fight with the promotion.
Whittaker rebounded with three straight victories to earn a second shot against Adesanya after his brief stay atop the division. Adesanya is 3-1 since their first meeting with the lone defeat coming in a failed attempt to earn a second title at light heavyweight against Jan Blachowicz.
UFC 271 main card full results
Middleweight: Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa def. Derrick Lewis via KO (elbow) at 1:40 of R2
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier def. Derek Brunson by TKO (elbows) at 4:29 of R2
Lightweight: Renato Moicano def. Alexander Hernandez by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:23 of R2
Lightweight: Bobby Green def. Nasrat Haqparast by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
UFC 271 preliminary card full results
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski def. Jared Vanderaa by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Flyweight: Casey O’Neill def. Roxanne Modafferi by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips def. Marcelo Rojo by submission (armbar) at 1:48 of R3
Light heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg def. Fabio Cherant by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
UFC 271 early preliminary card full results
Bantamweight: Ronnie Lawrence def. Mana Martinez by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun def. A.J. Dobson by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:34 of R2
Welterweight: Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:38 of R1
Heavyweight: Maxim Grishin def. William Knight by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Source: www.mmafighting.com
