Nigerian-born New Zealander, Israel Adesanya, has defeated Australian-New Zealand mixed martial artist, Robert Whittaker, to retain his title at the UFC 271 in Houston, Texas, on Sunday morning.
The 32-year-old successfully defended his title for the fourth time with a unanimous decision at the main event in front of over 6,000 fans packed into the Toyota Center.
Adesanya claimed victory over his 31-year-old opponent after the judges awarded him on points; 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.
‘The Last Stylebender’ had downed Whittaker in a second-round knockout in front of the largest crowd in the sport’s history at the UFC 234 in 2019 to become the undisputed king at 185lbs.
Adesanya (22-1) went toe-to-toe against Whittaker (23-6) dropping him in the first round but it was not enough to repeat the knockout as seen in their first fight.
Since losing to Adesanya about three years ago, Whittaker has won three straight fights, knocking off contenders Darren Till, Kelvin Gastelum and Jared Cannonier.
The Last Stylebender remains undefeated at middleweight but was defeated by a unanimous decision to then-light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 last March.
