It’s only been two years since the UFC Middleweight Champion made his debut.
Before Israel Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker for the prestigious belt at UFC 243, it wasn’t hard for the 30-year-old to get into the No. 1 contender’s spot as Adesanya entered the contest in the midst of a 17-fight winning streak.
The Nigeria native shocked the world with his impressive performances against a man many consider to be one of the greatest middleweights of all time, Anderson Silva. Adesanya would continue to rack up big wins by beating Kelvin Gastelum for the UFC Interim Middleweight Championship, Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, and Marvin Vettori.
However, before the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion fought his way to the top, Adesanya first went through Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221. Prior to his UFC debut, Adesanya fought around the world in mixed martials arts, whether it was in China for Wu Lin Feng to kicking ass in Melbourne, Australia for Australia Fighting Championship, the middleweight amassed a strong 11-0 record before making his UFC debut in February 2018.
Go back to where it began for Israel Adesanya in the UFC and see him take on Rob Wilkinson: