UFC 243: Israel Adesanya Reigns King

Published by: Alex “AFM” Minor

On Saturday 10/5/19, Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya shocked the world, and transitioned from a brightening star, into the center of the Middleweight Universe when he knocked out former champion, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker. Early in the bout, Whittaker chased Adesanya around, landing with some success, as Adesanya played distance and calculated. Late in the first, Adesanya seemingly caught his groove as he began to offer hard counters. A handful of seconds before the bell, Adesanya managed to stiffen the champion with a hard counter combination; leaving the audience wondering if the fight had ended in brief fashion. Whittaker slowly regained his feet before taking his stool.  

In the second round, Adesanya continued to maintain distance and exploit openings. About three and a half minutes into the third, Adesanya countered a combination from whittaker with two long hooks, straight to the chin, dropping him before “Stylebender” jumped on top and landed 3 more shots to wrap up his crowning moment.  

Israel Adesanya has done it. In less than 2 years, Adesanya has entered the UFC and systematically traversed the 185 Lb. division to reach “Mount Olympus”, and take his place as the Middleweight “King of Men”. Keeping in mind his flashy entrance and verbal post-fight venom, we can certainly expect big things for Adesanya in the near future.