Taking Over the UFC in Style

By Dan Gasch

into the eyes of Gastelum, Adesanya stated, “You can’t beat me. I’m ready to die.”

After becoming the interim champ, Adesanya went on to face Robert Whittaker, the undisputed middleweight champ at the time. The contest took place at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia.

According to MMAWeekly. com, as soon as the first round began, Whittaker came after Adesanya, looking to walk him down and take away his space. The strategy made sense, as Adesanya is a long and tall fighter who often lands his best strikes from range. However, this plan of attack did not pay off, as Adesanya patiently waited for an opening. In the last few seconds of the first round, Adesanya found an opening, connecting with a right hook that floored Whittaker.

In the second minute of round two, Adesanya connected on another devastating punch that again brought Whittaker to the canvas. After Adesanya landed a few follow-up shots, the referee intervened, handing Adesanya the knockout win.

After becoming the undisputed middleweight champion, Adesanya went on to defend his belt twice before moving up to the 205-pound weight class (light heavyweight) in an attempt to become a “double champ.” Unfortunately, the fight did not go his way, as he was defeated by Jan Błachowicz. Despite the loss, Adesanya did not have any regret for attempting to claim the light heavyweight strap, stating in a postfight interview, “It didn’t go exactly the way I wanted it to go, but dare to be great.”

After the one-off fight at 205, Adesanya went back to middleweight, where he defended his belt three more times.

During this win streak, Adesanya’s most notable fight was a rematch with former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. The fight was much more competitive than their first bout, with Whittaker clearly making adjustments to his game plan for the second fight. Although it was a close fight, Adesanya came out with the win and retained his belt.

As reported by MMA Fighting, on Nov. 12, 2022, Adesanya took on former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Before transitioning to MMA, the two fought twice under kickboxing rules, with Pereira taking the win in both contests. The history between these fighters gave many fans and analysts the belief that Pereira would prove to be a formidable opponent for Adesanya. Pereira lived up to those expectations and became the first man to beat Adesanya inside the distance under MMA rules.

Adesanya chose not to dwell on the loss and quickly got back to training in preparation for his next fight. Not long after, UFC president Dana White announced that on April 8, UFC 287 would be headlined by a Adesanya/Pereira rematch.

The stakes for this fight were very high, because Adesanya would likely have trouble finding a way into another title shot if defeated, as it