What mattered most at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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1. Israel Adesanya’s perfect night
When it comes to delivering in a big spot, Israel Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) did about as well as anyone with a star-making performance to become undisputed UFC middleweight champion.
Adesanya handled everything from the start of fight week to its end with a stunning level of perfection. He said the right things in the media pre-fight, had a walkout for the ages, fought almost perfectly to dethrone Robert Whittaker in front of a record crowd and effectively garnered interest in his first title defense, likely to come against Paulo Costa.
It was A+ work all around from “The Last Stylebender,” and for someone who made his UFC debut less than two years ago, Adesanya’s rise has been something special to watch. There’s nothing but difficult fights ahead for him, though, and with the belt now in his possession, it remains to be seen how many more times Adesanya can achieve perfection.
2. Adesanya vs. Costa is a special fight
Adesanya’s first title defense must come against Paulo Costa (12-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC). With all signs pointing that way, a special bit of championship-fight matchmaking is on the horizon.
An Adesanya vs. Costa pairing would mark just the seventh title fight in UFC history between two undefeated athletes. Remove women’s bouts involving Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk from that list, and it’s the first battle of unbeatens with gold on the line since Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 in May 2009.
The “undefeated vs. undefeated” aspect will serve as great promotional fodder, but even with that aside, it’s a ridiculously good fight. Adesanya’s pinpoint striking and creativity against Costa’s overwhelming power and aggression? And they seem to have a real-life disdain for each other? Book it immediately, please.
3. Tough one for Robert Whittaker
Credit to Robert Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) for being gracious in defeat after losing his title, but that one had to hurt him deeply.
After a grueling journey to get back in the octagon, the now former champion finally got his dream opportunity to put his belt on the line in Australia – and in a stadium, no less.
Whittaker couldn’t find a path to victory in that moment, though, and it certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying. He did his best to separate Adesanya from consciousness, but he couldn’t solve the riddle and that approach ultimately led to him being the one put down.
He couldn’t have handled the crushing moment with any more class. He made some salient points when rationalizing the outcome in his post-fight news conference, too. Whittaker is indeed only 28, it’s his first loss at 185 pounds and the fight wasn’t so one-sided that he couldn’t boost his chances of beating Adesanya with some adjustments.
Will Whittaker hold UFC gold again? It’s impossible to know for sure. However, if the heartbreak of losing his title under these circumstances isn’t enough fuel to push him to try his best, then nothing will be.
4. What happened to Tai Tuivasa?
Hard to sugar-coat that loss by Tai Tuivasa (9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) against Serghei Spivac. It was bad.
Maybe that analysis comes from not giving Spivac enough credit. The Moldavian fighter was KO’d in 50 seconds in his UFC debut in May, and many believed this was a set-up fight for Tuivasa, who entered the event on a two-fight losing skid.
That skid is now three after Tuivasa got tapped out in the second round. His takedown defense was utterly exposed, he was cut open and bloodied, then finished to top it all off. That’s quite the swing from where he was just 15 months ago when he was undefeated and gaining support as a future contender.
The losses prior to Spivac were much more forgivable. Junior Dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov are no slouches, but the outcome against Spivac should serve as an eye-opener for Tuivasa. At 26, though, there’s still time to turn things around and make it right. He’s just got to figure out how to pull that off.
5. Much-needed win for Megan Anderson
Megan Anderson’s (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) UFC run hasn’t panned out as many had thought, and that’s why her first-round submission win over Zarah Fairn was so important for her career.
Signed to the UFC with the idea she could possibly pose a challenge for former women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg, Anderson has failed to meet expectations inside the octagon. She lost a potential title eliminator with Felicia Spencer in her previous bout, but managed to start a rebuild with the performance against Fairn.
Anderson needs to make things work in the UFC at 145 pounds because she doesn’t have the ability to fight any lower. With one of the bigger names in the division, she must do her part to carry things, and another loss would’ve been a critical hit.
It’s hard to imagine Anderson being anything but a massive underdog if she ever got in position to fight champion Amanda Nunes, but she is a key piece of the puzzle in keeping that division alive. She’ll likely get a big opportunity next, and we’ll see if she can play her part.
