In the main event of the evening, Israel Adesanya secured the undisputed UFC middleweight title with a stunning TKO victory over Robert Whittaker in the second round. With the victory, Adesanya extends his perfect MMA record to 18-0.
Reflecting on a historic win Adesanya said “I’m real petty. I remember everything like an elephant. I was in the nose bleeds and now I made his nose bleed. He threw everything we expected. We had everything planned for plan A to Z. It‘s unreal. They said I have no knockout power. He caught me with a nice one, but I returned. I eat it, but give it back two times. That’s a two piece right there. I can take it and give it back. He’s right, I hate to get hit. It’s stupid to get hit. I’m tough and smart. At the end of the day, my team and I were smart. You know who’s next. I have a heavy Ricky Martinwannabe next. Borrachinha. This is my Octagon. I’m going to smash him. I want to rearrange his face.”
New Zealander Dan Hooker made a statement in the night’s co-main event of the evening, as he defeated fellow lightweight Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision. Hooker is now 6-1 as a UFC lightweight and continues his ascent through the division.
After the fight, Hooker even offered a surprise call out of former lightweight interim champion Dustin Poirier as he discussed his future fight plans, saying:“Dustin Poirier, I’m going to smash your face in. Meet me in New Zealand in 2020. I’m going to end you. I’m a hunter and I’m not ashamed to ask for fights. I deserve to be in there with the best. I have teammates fighting for titles and I’m hungry. I want to fight for the title. Dustin’s the quickest route to the title.”
German Lebanese prospect Khalid Taha continued to impress with his submission victory over UFC debutant Bruno Silva. The bantamweight now has 2 straight victories with the promotion, following up his first round knockout of Boston Salmon earlier this year.
Discussing his performance, Taha said “He was very good on the ground. He has good control, but he wasn’t that dangerous. I got him some times and I knew I was going to finish him. In the third, I started to land ground-and-pound. I felt he was done. He moved and gave me the side choke. I trained it so much and got him.”
back to back UFC continues with UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: JOANNA vs. WATERSON – October 12 in Tampa, United States
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