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Israel Adesanya secured one of the biggest victories of his combat sports career a few years ago by defeating MMA legend Anderson Silva in their three-round middleweight bout. Adesanya faced Silva in the headlining matchup at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia, on February 10th, 2019 i.e., four years ago on this day.
The fight witnessed ‘The Last Stylebender’ put on a brilliant show of his skills in what was largely a stand-up war between the two striking savants. Both Adesanya as well as ‘The Spider’ tried a few flashy spinning techniques over the course of their showdown but failed to land any of them decisively.
That said, Israel Adesanya’s speed seemingly proved to be the difference-maker between him and his veteran foe. ‘Izzy’ managed to clearly outpoint Anderson Silva, although ‘The Spider’ did occasionally showcase glimpses of his brilliance. Additionally, Adesanya refused to over-extend and risk getting countered despite former UFC middleweight champion Silva’s showboating and taunts.
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Furthermore, Adesanya struck poses and fired back with taunts of his own in the fight, orchestrating a masterclass of controlled aggression in the striking realm. The fight went the distance and the judges subsequently handed Adesanya a unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) win.
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Watch highlights from Adesanya vs. Silva below:
Robert Whittaker feels losing to Alex Pereira could help Israel Adesanya in their rematch
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has been beaten by reigning UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira twice in the sport of kickboxing and once in MMA.
Their most recent fight saw Alex Pereira defeat 'Izzy' via fifth-round TKO to capture the middleweight belt in November 2022. ‘Poatan’ is scheduled to defend the middleweight title against Adesanya at UFC 287 on April 8th, 2023.
In a recent edition of Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker addressed the upcoming MMA rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. Whittaker, who himself has lost to Adesanya twice, suggested that his longtime rival might benefit from his recent loss to Pereira.
‘The Reaper’ indicated that mentally, Adesanya probably had a better shot at beating Pereira in their previous encounter. He added, however, that the defeat could potentially free Adesanya, as the worst has already happened. Insinuating that ‘Izzy’ does have a shot at beating Pereira at UFC 287, Whittaker stated:
“It can either swing one way where it frees him up - the worst has happened, whatever, he gets in there mentally free. Or, he’s worried about it happening again with the small gloves because it has happened. Honestly, skill-wise, he could have beat him skill-wise last time. It was a close fight.”
Watch Whittaker's assessment of Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 at 7:00 in the video below:
