Robert Whittaker has been humbled in Melbourne by a savage display from one of the most explosive men in the UFC.
Marvel Stadium has been treated to an absolute feast on Sunday with the bombastic Israel Adesanya taking the UFC Middleweight championship in a brutal win over Robert Whittaker.
Israel Adesanya defeated UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker with a stunning knockout in the second round of their highly anticipated 185-pound unification bout which headlined UFC 243 on Sunday. New Zealand-based, Nigerian-born Adesanya landed a booming right hook which floored Whittaker in the final seconds of the first round and then ended the fight in the second of the five-round contest with a left hook. Adesanya was interim champion before claiming the title against Whittaker and improved his UFC record to 7-0.
After doing a cartwheel during his entry to Docklands Stadium, Adesanya said he was determined to put on a show.
“I’m a dancer. I’m an entertainer, I have to give them a show and set the tone,” Adesanya said. “There’s no one like me. No one.” The 30-year-old said he had soaked up everything Whittaker could throw at him in the short bout.
“He caught me with a nice one, but I returned,” Adesanya said. “I eat it, but give it back two times. I’m tough and smart.” The attendance of 57,127 set a world record for UFC, surpassing the 56,214 at the same venue in 2015.
“I was in the nose bleeds, and now I’ve made his nose bleed,” Adesanya said immediately after the fight in reference to that 2015 event where he was a spectator in the upper reaches in the stadium while Whittaker was a rising UFC star on the card at that event. The New Zealand-born Australian Whittaker won his fight that night.
It was 28-year-old Whittaker’s first fight since June 2018 in Chicago. He was scheduled to fight in February but withdrew due to emergency bowel surgery. Whittaker’s UFC world-title defense was the first by an Australian. “He’s a great striker and congratulations,” Whittaker said. “I took the fight to him. It was tit for tat and I got caught. It happens.
“I’m 28. This is my first loss in the division. Trust me when I say I’m not going anywhere.” New Zealand’s Dan Hooker scored a unanimous points win over higher-ranked American lightweight Al Iaquinta in the co-main event.
-- with AP
AND NEW!
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 6, 2019
Israel Adesanya knocks out Robert Whittaker to become the new UFC middleweight champion ðŸ†
(via @ufc)pic.twitter.com/OnQmuKIKRV
Israel Adesanya is your UFC middleweight champ. Undisputed and everything. That was impressive.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) October 6, 2019
Scroll down for a complete recap of the day's action.
Full results:
Israel Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker via TKO (2nd round) (UFC middleweight championship)
Dan Hooker def. Al Iaquinta via decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Sergey Spivac defeated Tai Tuivasa via submission
Dhiego Lima defeats Luke Jumeau via split decision
Yorgan De Castro defeats Justin Tafa via knockout
Robert Whittaker has been defeated by Israel Adesanya in the second round in Melbourne via TKO.
The Aussie was rocked to the core by a brutal knockdown at the end of the first round and couldn't fight through a second as Adesanya repelled his offence and landed a chaotic left hook to turn the Aussie's lights off.
Robert Whittaker punctured Adesanya's defence multiple times in the first round, bull-rushing his slimmer opponent and forcing him to the perimeter within the first two minutes.
The pair continued to size each other up until Adesanya stuck gold in the final seconds of the round, dropping Whittaker clean on his back with a brutal right hand uppercut. Fortunately for the Aussie, the bell went off before Adesanya could pounce.
Whittaker was visibly rocked in the break but returned to the second round with a savage combination of fists to surprise his opponent.
Kiwi star Dan Hooker had US opponent Al Iaquinta on the ropes early, using his two inch height advantage to land sporadic blows on the 32-year-old UFC veteran. A savage leg kick late in the first knocked Iaquinta to the ground near the perimeter, giving Hooker an opportunity to mount and land a series of ghoulish head blows.
Iaquinta twisted his way out of the bind and fended off a potential fight ending rear-naked choke before regaining his feet and seeing it out to the first bell.
Iaquinta rocked back in the second, catching Hooker off-guard with an early left, but the Kiwi responded brilliantly with a big right hand to the jaw to drop him once again.
After eating a bucket of elbows, Iaquinta was able to keep Hooker at bay for the final seconds of the second round.
The pair had a comparatively conservative round to close the fight before Iaquinta tried a last ditch attempt at a knockout in the final minute.
Hooker came away with a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) and called lightweight superstar Dustin Poirier for a fight in New Zealand.
Tai "Bam Bam" Tuivasa landed a huge leg kick moments into the opening round and floored his opponent Sergey Spivak.
The Aussie heavyweight however failed to keep the pressure on and Spivak grabbed the momentum and took Tuivasa down to the canvas over and over again.
In the second round it was all Spivak once again with another takedown bringing the end closer for Tuivasa.
Several punches to the face of Tuivasa left him open for the triangle choke and once it was locked in the referee waved the fight off.
The loss makes it three straight for Tuivasa in the UFC and exposed his struggles when the fight gets taken to the canvas.
Dhiego Lima controlled the second bout on the main card with leg kick after leg kick.
He landed several powerful blows to the outside left leg of Luke Jumeau which left his leg looking more like a tomato.
Somehow despite Lima's dominance the judges were split on the decision with Lima emerging victorious 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
The main event has kicked off in absolutely insane fashion with Yorgan De Castro landing a right hand from the depths of hell.
Aussie Justin Tafa pressed forward in the opening round but left himself wide open and De Castro took full advantage, loading his right hand all the way up and planting it on the chin of Tafa.
The hellacious shot left Tafa down on the canvas for a long time before he was helped up by medical staff.
"Holy smokes he put him to sleep," a commentator shouted.
After hitting the walk off knockout, Castro said he was expecting a three round slugfest.
"I was expecting three rounds of war, but he came hard at me with his chin open," he said.
"I knew I just had to time him. I have power, man. If I land, they're going down."
Australian UFC fans have turned out with a crowd of more than 57,000 expected to pack out Melbourne's Marvel Stadium.
If that figure rings true it would be the largest crowd in UFC history!
The final fight before the main card gets underway won't exactly go down as one to remember.
Jake Matthews and Rosern Akman both failed to push the pace and seemed content not to leave the Octagon with any major damage as they danced around for 15 minutes.
Aussie Matthews ended up walking away with the unanimous decision victory.
It makes sense that one of the biggest superheroes in the Marvel Universe would be sitting ringside at Marvel Stadium.
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky are taking in the fight action ahead of the blockbuster main event.
UFC megastar Alex Pereira proved once again he’s a different beast as he dominated his latest rival, leaving him unrecognisable.
A murdered father who managed Boyz II Men, drug bans and fast food addictions – nothing has been conventional about Khalil Rountree Jr’s path to UFC 307.
A UFC star has shown off his insane body transformation that has seen him go from being overweight to having a Hulk-like figure.