Israel Adesanya retained the UFC middleweight belt with a unanimous decision victory over Jarred Cannonier.
Adesanya competed against middleweight contender Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on Sunday morning at the T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
At UFC 276, Israel Adesanya defeated Jared Cannonier (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) in a masterpiece in technical accuracy.
Adesanya, who delighted spectators with a tribute to WWE legend The Undertaker in his walkout, was too quick and astute for his opponent, but he stoked the appetite for his next defense.
Since his debut in 2018, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has improved with each appearance in the Octagon and is still undefeated in the middleweight division.
In 2019, he won the interim title in the Fight of the Year winner against Kelvin Gastelum.
The following year, ‘Izzy’ defeated Robert Whittaker and united the titles.
Since then, he has successfully defended his championship four times. Adesanya’s single setback on an otherwise perfect record (22-1) came during his attempted transition to light heavyweight, when he was defeated by then-champion Jan Blachowicz.
On Sunday, the New Zealander of Nigerian descent successfully defended his middleweight belt for the fifth time.
While Adesanya overcame Robert Whittaker for the second fight in February to defend his middleweight title, Cannonier knocked out Derek Brunson in the second round to become the weight’s No. 1 challenger.
Cannonier failed to achieve a takedown in the last round on Sunday, while Adesanya remained cautious as the audience became restless.
Cannonier delivered a barrage of punches in response to Adesanya’s clean jabs.
Cannonier, on the other hand, failed to complete a takedown and was defeated by unanimous decision.
