UFC 275: Adesanya beats Cannonier to retain middleweight title

Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya cruised to the fourth title defence of his middleweight UFC belt against Jared Cannonier early on Sunday morning (Nigerian time) in a fight that sometimes looked one-sided.

The fight ended in a unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 for the Last Stylebender.

Adesanya’s last fight also ended in a unanimous decision win over rival Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 in February.

“He had an excellent game plan; it was really hard to get my follow-ups going, my second phases going,” Adesanya said after he was declared the winner.

The win is Adesanya’s twelfth consecutive victory as a middleweight in the UFC, only one behind the record set by UFC legend Anderson Silva, as the Last Stylebender continues to cement his legacy as one of the greatest to ever step foot in the Octagon.

“No one like him,” said the WWE legend and actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Adesanya may square against Alex Pereira, who holds two wins over the Last Stylebender, albeit in kickboxing.

“The first time I told you it was an error on my part spamming the right hand,” Adesanya said, directing his comments to Pereira. “That was in kickboxing. … Next time I punch you, you’ll be on skates and you’re gonna be frozen like Elsa. I’ll leave it at that.”