How many title defenses has Israel Adesanya had?

Last Modified Aug 12, 2024 10:27 GMT
UFC 293: Adesanya v Strickland
UFC 293: Adesanya v Strickland

Israel Adesanya is a 35-year-old fighter from Nigeria who is a former middleweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Starting his professional mixed martial arts career in 2012, Adesanya is currently on a record of 24 wins and 3 losses. And over the years, Adesanya has had 16 knockout wins and 8 wins by decision. Whereas he has had one loss via knockout and 2 via decision.

He made his UFC debut at UFC 221 against Rob Wilkinson and won the fight via TKO at 3:37 in the second round. The fight took place in Perth, Australia, and Adesanya took home a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for his showcase. Adesanya faced Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC middleweight title and won the bout unanimously at UFC 236 on April 13, 2019. Later, he unified the UFC middleweight championship by defeating the former champion Robert Whittaker via knockout at UFC UFC 243 on October 6, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia. Adesanya also earned a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for his knockout victory. Adesanya was undefeated with a professional MMA record of 18 win streak at the time.

Israel Adesanya's title defenses

Israel Adesanya has had five successful title defenses in his career. Even though Adesanya lost his title to Alex Pereira in his 6th defense match, ‘The Last Sylebender’ won back the championship.

In his 6th title defense against Sean Strickland in Australia on September 9, 2023, Adesanya was defeated and lost his belt. Moreover, the 35-year-old fighter is set to reclaim his title from Dicrus du Plessis on August 17, 2024.

UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero

Israel Adesanya had his first UFC middleweight title defense against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020, and won the fight via a unanimous decision.

UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa

Adesanya had his second title defense against Paulo Costa and won the fight via TKO at 3:59 in the second round. The fight took place on September 27, 2020, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori

For his third title defense, Adesanya had a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori on June 12, 2021, at UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona, United States.

UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker

At UFC 271, Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker via a unanimous decision on February 12, 2022, in Houston, Texas, United States.

UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier

For his fifth title defense, Adesanya had a decision win over Jared Cannonier on July 2, 2022 at UFC 276.

Read More About this: What is Israel Adesanya's fight record?

Israel Adesanya Title Match Breakdowns

Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss24-3Sean StricklandDecision (Unanimous)UFC 29310 September 202355:00Sydney, AustraliaLost the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win24–2Alex PereiraKO (punches)UFC 2878 April 202324:21Miami, Florida, United StatesWon the UFC Middleweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Loss23–2Alex PereiraTKO (punches)UFC 28112 November 202252:01New York City, New York, United StatesLost the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win23–1Jared CannonierDecision (unanimous)UFC 2762 July 202255:00Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesDefended the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win22–1Robert WhittakerDecision (unanimous)UFC 27112 February 202255:00Houston, Texas, United StatesDefended the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win21–1Marvin VettoriDecision (unanimous)UFC 26312 June 202155:00Glendale, Arizona, United StatesDefended the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win20–0Paulo CostaTKO (punches and elbows)UFC 25327 September 202023:59Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesDefended the UFC Middleweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win19–0Yoel RomeroDecision (unanimous)UFC 2487 March 202055:00Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesDefended the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win18–0Robert WhittakerKO (punches)UFC 2436 October 201923:33Melbourne, AustraliaWon and unified the UFC Middleweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win17–0Kelvin GastelumDecision (unanimous)UFC 23613 April 201955:00Atlanta, Georgia, United StatesWon the interim UFC Middleweight Championship. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year.

*Last updated on August 12, 2024.

FAQs On How many title defenses has Israel Adesanya had?

A. Israel Adesanya has had five successful title defenses in his career. 


A. Adesanya had his second title defense against Paulo Costa and won the fight via TKO at 3:59 in the second round. The fight took place on September 27, 2020, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 


A. Israel Adesanya unified the UFC middleweight championship by defeating the former champion Robert Whittaker via knockout at UFC UFC 243 on October 6, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia.

A. Israel Adesanya has had only three losses in his mixed martial arts career so far.

A. Israel Adesanya is set to fight Dicrus du Plessis in his next fight at UFC 305. 

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