Adesanya: UFC Career History, Stats, And Upcoming Fight
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American sports institution that organizes mixed martial arts (MMA) fights. The UFC features the most talented international fighters with incredible martial arts styles. Among the MMA juggernauts plying their trade in the competition is middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya. (More on Adesanya later.)
As a franchise, the UFC has witnessed immense growth over the years and is now one of the strongest MMA promoters in the market since their ratings have consistently gone above millions. Notably, the UFC prelims usually cross this mark, reaching close to 2 million viewers. For example, UFC 246 prelims attracted about 1.8 million viewers worldwide.
The UFC and betting history
The sport continues to attract more fans from all around the world. Most supporters create hype during competitions through betting. It’s more exhilarating to watch your favorite fighter in the cage and emerge victorious while you get a pretty payout yourself.
Sports betting has seen quite an increase in the past few years. Large bets by major celebrities have become commonplace for big UFC cards, and few were bigger than the time Drake ended his curse with Adesanya at UFC 276. After a notoriously bad run of luck losing major bets on sporting events, the Canadian rap Superstar won over $1M as Adesanya defeated Cannonier. The giant payout made headlines throughout the world and Drake’s $1M winning UFC bet on the crypto gambling website Stake.com was featured on the live broadcast to the amazement of the commentary team.
If you’re looking to place your bet for UFC 281’s main event, read on for more information on Israel Adesanya’s UFC career history, stats, and what to expect in his upcoming fight:
Adesanya’s UFC career so far
Israel Mobolaji Adesanya is a Nigerian native and professional MMA fighter. Adesanya started training in kickboxing when he was 18, becoming a multi-time tournament winner. However, in his final kickboxing bout, he was defeated by Alex Pereira. Afterward, he started competing in MMA in 2012 before joining the UFC.
If you bet on UFC matches, Adesanya is one MMA fighter to consider when placing a wager. Because of his incredible martial art skills, he’s regarded as one of the best strikers in the UFC and a bookie favorite.
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Adesanya’s UFC debut
Adesanya joined the UFC in December 2017 and announced the signing of his first contract. Currently, he fights in the middleweight division in the UFC and is also the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion.
He began his UFC career on a high note and went on a five-fight win streak before his interim middleweight championship bout. The star started his UFC career in a bout against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221 in February 2018. He emerged victorious in the second round through a technical knockout, earning him his first Performance of the Night award. Here are his fights after his debut and before the UFC Middleweight Championship:
- April 2018: He faced Marvin Vettori at UFC on Fox 29 and emerged the winner via a split decision.
- July 2018: He fought against Brad Taveres at the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale and won through a unanimous decision. He also got his second Performance of the Night award.
- November 2018: Adesanya’s three-round bout with Derek Brunson at UFC 230 marked his PPV debut, a crucial fight that paved the way for a future title shot. He came out with a win in the first round through a technical knockout. This earned the athlete his third Performance of the Night and elevated him to the top five of the division.
- February 2019: He faced Anderson Silva at UFC 234. Adesanya defeated the former middleweight champion via a unanimous decision with scorecards 29–28, 30–27, and 30–27. This earned them both the Fight of the Night award.
UFC middleweight championship
In April 2019, Adesanya fought Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, for the interim middleweight championship match. He came out the winner through a unanimous decision with scores 48–46 from the three judges and claimed the Fight of the Night award. MMA pundits considered this fight as his best performance of the year and earned a nomination from many MMA media agencies.
His next fight was at UFC 243 against Robert Whittaker. This was a 185-pound bout and UFC middleweight championship title unification. He defeated Whittaker through an incredible knockout in the second round, making him the undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion with a fourth Performance of the Night award. Being the interim champion before this win, this title improved his overall UFC record to 7–0. According to some statistics, Adesanya’s victory over Whittaker attracted the highest gate attendance, reaching around 56,214 attendees.
Here are his next UFC matches after his first championship bout:
- UFC 248, March 2020 (Adesanya vs. Romero)
This was one of Adesanya’s toughest bouts as he faced another dangerous fighter in the division. Romero, known to fight in bursts, was reluctant to make the first move so he could do some damage later. Even so, Adesanya didn’t create room for that since he mostly attacked the lead leg from a safe gap. This bout was booed for lack of action, but in the end, Adesanya defended his title belt for the first time via a unanimous decision, 48–47, 48–47, and 49–46.
- UFC 253, September 2020 (Adesanya vs. Costa)
Coming in with a 19–0 record, the middleweight champion was set to defend his unbeaten record. The Last Stylebender dominated the fight with kicks to Paulo Costa’s torso, lead leg, and head. After wearing him out, he finished with a total knockdown in the second round, successfully defending the middleweight title for the second time.
- UFC 259, March 2021 (Blachowicz vs. Adesanya)
Adesanya weighed lighter than Blachowicz for this title fight. At the official weigh-ins, he weighed 200.5 pounds while his opponent was at 205 pounds. Unfortunately, Blachowicz defended his light heavyweight title through a unanimous decision win, denying the middleweight champion another title. The light heavyweight fighter dominated the last two rounds of the fight, scoring 49-45, 49-45, and 49-46 across the board.
- UFC 263, June 2021 (Adesanya vs. Vettori 2)
This was a rematch for the two fighters after the 2018 clash. Though Vettori had his share of moments in the fight, Adesanya showcased the mixed martial art skills that enabled him to pick off his challenger. With leg kicks and grappling, he outclassed Vettori, getting a decisive unanimous win, scoring 50–45 from all judges. With this win, he defended his title for the third time. Essentially, it was a rebound from his previous loss and got him back to his winning ways.
- UFC 271, February 2022 (Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2)
UFC 271 was a rematch of Adesanya’s title win at UFC 243. Adesanya started well with impressive shots and a knockdown in the first round. Whittaker had some positive moments in the next round, but Adesanya was quick to strike from distance, avoiding any form of submission. Finally, Adesanya came out victorious through a unanimous decision with official scores of 48–47, 48–47, and 49–46 from the judges. This was his 11th straight middleweight fight win and fourth title defense.
- UFC 276, July 2022 (Adesanya vs. Cannonier)
Adesanya weighed 183.5 pounds for UFC 276, while Jared Cannonier was at 184.5 pounds for the main bout. However, Adesanya defeated the heavyweight and lightweight by a unanimous decision win with all three judges’ scorecards, 49–46, 49–46, and 50–45, in his favor. With this victory, Adesanya defended his title for the fifth time at 185 pounds.
According to reports, Adesanya becomes the fourth UFC player ever to win twelve fights in the same weight class, joining UFC greats Kamaru Usman, Anderson Silva, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. In less than two years, he went from making his debut to winning championships and successfully defending his title. For the record, the MMA fighter has never lost a middleweight bout. His only career loss was at UFC 259, the 205-pound bout against the light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz.
Adesanya’s fighting style
Adesanya is a mixed martial artist, and his best weapon is his stand-up fighting. Actually, none of Adesanya’s wins has been attained by submission. Below are some of the styles he used in his UFC career:
- Kickboxing
Adesanya’s most used martial art is kickboxing, earning him the majority of wins. He was not new to this fighting style since he had a professional kickboxing career for over seven years before signing with the UFC. He mainly adopts a relaxed and loose stance. And because of his long legs and slender frame, he likes to pick off his opponents from a distance with a flurry of kicks to the body and legs. When he sees his opponent is worn out, he goes for head kicks to end the bout with a knockout.
Muay Thai was the first martial art he learned in Nigeria and probably where his interest in MMA developed. This training gives him an advantage over his opponents in the cage as he can use elbow strikes and leg kicks to control his opponent. Adesanya mainly used this tactic against Robert Whittaker, earning him a win. He praised his Muay Thai coach for helping him perfect this martial art, boosting his game.
- Boxing
He combines boxing with Muay Thai to create a tactical game with his hands: throwing punches without getting hit. Also, it has given him some competitive experience in his matches as he doesn’t have to depend only on his kicking skills to hit his opponent.
- Wrestling
Adesanya uses grappling to frustrate experienced fighters like Marvin Vettori. His wrestling skills keep him off the ground and stay upright where he’s most effective.
Essentially, his ability to blend various martial arts styles while in action has earned him the nickname, the Last Stylebender. This mix-up is essential in MMA since it’s difficult to dominate a bout with only a single martial art style.
Stats
Adesanya’s current record stands at 23–1–0, with a UFC Middleweight Championship. Here are his UFC career stats:
- Weight: 185 pounds (Middleweight)
- Height: 1.93m
- Stance: Switch
- Total matches: 24
- Wins: 23
- Wins by knockout: 15
- Wins by decision: 8
- Losses: 1
- Losses by decision: 1
- UFC middleweight championship: Current, five title defenses
- Interim UFC middleweight championship: Onetime
- Performance of the Night: 5
- Fight of the Night: 2
- Strike Defense: 59%
- Significant strikes landed per minute: 3.93
- Takedown defense: 78%
- Significant striking accuracy: 49%
- Submissions: 0
- Significant strikes absorbed per minute: 2.67
Aside from that, here are Adesanya’s other achievements in the UFC middleweight division:
- Most knockdowns in a title fight (4)
- Second longest win streak (12)
- Longest average fight time (17.35)
- Second most title fight wins (7)
Upcoming fight
Adesanya (23–1) is expected to defend his UFC middleweight title for the sixth time on November 12 in the main event of UFC 281. This bout will take place at Madison Square Garden, New York. He’s going to face his old rival and red-hot fighter, Alex Pereira, who is 3-0 in the UFC with two USD$50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses. Pereira also has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing and is the only fighter who has ever knocked him out. This bout is going to look different from their kickboxing matches.
UFC fans wait in anticipation for the match, and Adesanya is hungry to prove to his supporters that he’s worthy of the stage. And as the event approaches, you’d want to place your stake on your favorite UFC fighter to see if he rises to the occasion.
Conclusion
Adesanya is one of the UFC’s most talented fighters with worldly fighting abilities. With his smooth movements, knockout power, speed, and long reach, he has managed to pick off his opponents and defend his title. You’ve learned about his UFC career history, statistics, and upcoming fight. And this November, you’d want to partner with the best online betting site to make your predictions for UFC 281. This can help you do a complete analysis of the match, taking into account different factors like recent performances and fighting styles.
