In Houston, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya won a unanimous decision against former champion Robert Whittaker.
Adesanya, who is based in New Zealand, previously defeated Whittaker in the second round at UFC 243 in Melbourne in October 2019 to win the undisputed middleweight title.
Whittaker, on the other hand, fought to a far more cautious gameplan in Saturday’s rematch at UFC 271 in Texas, which kept him in the fight all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
After a close championship fight at the Toyota Center, all three judges agreed on a winner, and Adesanya was declared the winner by unanimous decision with scores of 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46.
In the opening minutes of the fight, Adesanya, 32, felled Whittaker, 31, with a straight shot, and the challenger cut a demoralised figure on his stool after the first round as he informed his corner how much pain the champion’s leg kicks had already given him.
Whittaker, on the other hand, sought to keep Adesanya guessing for the rest of the fight, working behind a well-drilled double jab and mixing in takedown attempts to keep himself in contention.
However, it was Adesanya’s cleaner hitting from range that proved key, as he blasted Whittaker’s legs with kicks throughout the fight and successfully shut off Whittaker’s ground game to improve to 21-1 and prolong his undefeated middleweight run.
“I knew he was going to bring everything, because last time I took everything away from him,” Adesanya told former UFC champion Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview.
“So, he had nothing to lose. And like I said, I’m the champ. Come get it.”
Adesanya went on to state his intention to return to action in June against middleweight contender Jared Cannonier, who scored an impressive win of his own in Houston.
“I know June doesn’t have a pay-per-view yet, but like I said, I’m the new dog in the yard, I’m the big dog in the yard now. And I know the other dog, Jared Cannonier, did some work tonight.”
Whittaker, meanwhile, was left disappointed after thinking he’d done enough to recapture the title.
“I know I started off rocky in that first round, but I feel like I took every round after that,” he said.
“It is what it is, but you know what they say about leaving it to the judges.
“I’m happy that I fought my heart out and left it here. But, I’m gutted. I thought I did enough. I thought I took that.”