When Brad Tavares took UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to a five-round decision

UFC middleweight Brad Tavares returned to the win column after earning a decision victory over Antonio Carlos Junior at UFC 257. The Hawaii-based middleweight snapped a two-fight losing skid with his latest win.

Tavares, who first competed in the UFC at the age of 22 in 2010, was a prized prospect in the 185-pound division before he found himself in the middle of a losing streak, which was initiated by Yoel Romero in 2014.

The 33-year-old fighter then bounced back with a string of victories that secured him a match against none other than Israel Adesanya in 2018. Tavares' fight against Adesanya was one of The Last Stylebender's initial fights in the promotion, having defeated Marvin Vettori in the previous bout.

The pair fought at The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale in July of 2018. Although Adesanya put on a dominant performance, it was Brad Tavares who was tough and gritty for the entirety of the fight.

Tavares was bloodied by the end of fourth round, but was able to weather the storm when Adesanya was relentlessly landing heavy blows, ultimately stretching their bout to the fifth round. The Last Stylebender was rewarded with the Performance of the Night accolade, after all the judges scored the contest in Adesanya's favor (49–46, 50–45, 50–45).

However, Brad Tavares showed a good account of himself, hanging in there for all five rounds.

Body shot drops Tavares!@Stylebender lands a nasty liver kick, but Tavares recovers! #TUF27 pic.twitter.com/YyAufXq5gN

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2018

What's next for Brad Tavares?

After losing to Israel Adesanya, Brad Tavares lost his next fight against the up and coming contender in Edmen Shahbazyan. The 33-year-old finally put a halt to his losing streak with a recent UFC 257 win over Antonio Carlos Junior.

Hawaii is claiming Fight Island this time! 🌺 @BradTavares with a massive shot to close RD 2. [ #UFC257 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/RiXwyAFWVq

— UFC (@ufc) January 24, 2021

Brad Tavares is currently ranked No.14 in the UFC middleweight division and the Hawaii native will certainly be looking to break into the division's top 10 soon. A possible rematch against Edmen Shahbazyan could make that happen.