Every once in a while a fighter comes along who captures the imagination of MMA fans across the world. Israel Adesanya is one of those fighters.
Adesanya joined the UFC in 2018 with a record of 11-0. He earned all 11 of those victories by way of knockout. He made it 12 stoppages in 12 fights when he knocked out Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221. Adesanya’s streak of knockouts came to an end in his next bout when he earned a split decision over Marvin Vettori. He followed that with a unanimous decision win over Brad Tavares. In his final contest of 2018, Adesanya was matched up against Derek Brunson. At the time, Brunson was the No. 6 ranked fighter in the 185-pound division according to the official UFC rankings. Adesanya was ranked No. 9.
The fight was seen by many as the first real test of Adesanya’s career. Not only was he fighting a much more experienced opponent, but he was also doing so under the bright lights of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Adesanya was a -300 favorite over Brunson, who was a +230 underdog.
Brunson did his best to stifle Adesanya’s striking prowess by closing the distance and working from the clinch. That gameplan did hinder the frightening striking of Adesanya early, but once Adesanya was able to work from range he took control of the fight.
The last 40 seconds of the contest showed just how much skill Adesanya has as a striker. Once he separated from Brunson, he stunned his opponent with a knee. He followed that with a combination of punches and a knee to the head. With Brunson staggered, Adesanya stepped back and caught Brunson with a kick and a right that put Brunson onto the mat. Brunson was able to regain his feet, but two knees and another two punches brought the fight to a close at the 4:51 mark of Round 1.
After the fight, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said of Adesanya, “That was a big test for him and he got an A plus.”
Adesanya puts his perfect 15-0 record on the line against the fighter he has often been compared to, former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva at UFC 234.
