#4. Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa – UFC 253
Israel Adesanya's best performance in the UFC came in his second title defense. The Nigerian-born New Zealander took on Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC 253 on Fight Island, Abu Dhabi.
Going into the bout, UFC president Dana White claimed on numerous occasions that the fight would be a 'Fight of the Year' contender. Both Adesanya and Costa were undefeated stand-up fighters and there was a ton of bad blood between them as well. The matchup had all the makings of an instant classic.
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However, Adesanya seemingly didn't get the script and absolutely demolished Costa in under two rounds.
'The Last Stylebender' picked apart the powerful Brazilian with surgical precision en route to a comfortable TKO victory. His vicious leg kicks rendered his opponent immobile as 'Borrachinha' barely landed a strike on the champion.
Adesanya's flawless performance led many to say that he would remain the middleweight champion for many years to come. His reputation as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world skyrocketed, so much so that he earned a direct shot at the light heavyweight title soon after the victory over Costa.
Watch the full fight below:
#3. Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye – UFC 238
In her first flyweight title defense, Valentina Shevchenko took on Jessica Eye in the co-main event of UFC 238. 'Bullet' repeatedly kicked Eye's body throughout the first round and the damage to the midsection was clearly mounting. In the second round, Shevchenko landed a few more body kicks before throwing a perfectly placed head kick.
With Eye anticipating another blow to her body, she dropped her hands, which was the last voluntary action she took in the fight.
Shevchenko's win over Jessica Eye set the tone for her championship reign. 'Bullet' went on to defend the title against Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade and Lauren Murphy.
She is still the champion at 125 lb and her stunning head-kick KO victory over Eye remains the most memorable win of her reign so far.