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The highly anticipated rematch between the top two middleweight mixed martial artists in the world finally went down on Saturday night at UFC 271.
Middleweight king Israel Adesanya and the man he took the belt from, Robert Whittaker, fought for five rounds during the main event in Houston, Texas. Both men found success during the contest, however the biggest moment of the fight was Adesanya’s when he dropped “The Reaper” in the first round.
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GettyRobert Whittaker punches Israel Adesanya at UFC 271 in February 2022.
In the end, “The Last Stylebender” did what he had to do to earn the unanimous decision victory (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). After notching his fourth title defense, Adesanya improved his professional MMA record to 22-1. On the other end, Whittaker’s record fell to 23-6.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who has a longstanding rivalry with Adesanya, seemingly was impressed with the fight, tweeting right after the fifth round ended: “Who y’all got winning the Super Bowl?”
Rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev tweeted: “@stylebender easy money for me, 0 wrestling. 1 round I’m gonna kill him.”
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More Fighters Reacted to the UFC 271 Main Event
Top-ranked UFC lightweight Michael Chandler tweeted: “Trust me, I love Izzy. But we have gotten to a point where a dominant champ just needs to stand there, throw a few shots per round and he will not lose unless he gets caught&he will always get the nod. Izzy got paid on this last contract…go FIGHT, don’t you dare spar.”
Former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen merely tweeted: “No.”
The only man to defeat Adesanya inside the Octagon, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, tweeted: “Still, the one ;).”
Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, who worked during the UFC 271 broadcast as a color commentator, reacted to comments about his commentary. “Lots of people saying I has biased commentary,” Bisping tweeted. “That’s crazy. I called it like I saw it. Big opening round for Izzy. Then real close rounds after that, but I had Izzy winning most. 5 was robs best round. 2 probably went to him also. Close fight, very technical, well done to both!”
MMA fighter Erik Koch tweeted: “I don’t understand. I’m a fan of Izzy. That being said his highlights are low kicks. Rob landed more hands and got takedowns. Any other person besides Jones they barely score low kicks over punches.”
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Jared Cannonier Up Next for The Last Stylebender?
During the UFC 271 main card, No. 3-ranked 185-pound combatant Jared Cannonier took on No. 4 Derek Brunson. The match-up was viewed by many as a battle to determine the next middleweight title contender.
Although Brunson found success in the first round, Cannonier took over in the second and ultimately finished his opponent via KO. “The Killa Gorilla” is now 5-1 in his last six bouts, and during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Adesanya shared his interest in fighting Cannonier next.
During the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Cannonier will likely be the next fighter to compete against The Last Stylebender.
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