If there was any question as to who the best middleweight fighter was heading into UFC 243, Israel Adesanya ended that on Saturday night.
Coming off his dominant win over Kelvin Gastelum back in April, Adesanya entered Saturday night's fight as the interim middleweight champion. In his way was fellow interim champion Robert Whittaker, who hadn't fought in over a year due to an emergency dual surgery to fix an abdominal hernia of the intestine and a twisted and collapsed bowel.
The Last Stylebender put on a masterful performance, perfectly countering Whittaker's aggressive attack early on. Whittaker lunged forward with some wild haymakers, but a calm and collected Adesanya responded with an effective jab. Working his way into a rhythm, Adesanya became busier as the round progressed and capped it off with an emphatic right hand that sent Whittaker to the canvas at the horn.
Seemingly unphased by the knockdown, Whittaker began the second round with the same aggressive approach. But it was Adesanya who landed the more effective punches, bloodying his opponent. At the 3:33 mark of round two, Adesanya connected with a counter left that sent Whittaker to the canvas. Adesanya quickly followed-up with a barrage of punches, forcing the referee to step in.
The 30-year-old Israel Adesanya is now a perfect 18-0 professionally, but more importantly, he's now the undisputed middleweight champion. He didn't waste any time after the fight either, immediately turning his attention to top-ranked contender Paulo Costa, who was cage side during the fight. A title fight between the two is almost certain to take place next.
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker, who is just 28 years old, vowed to be back.