Robert Whittaker has failed to regain his lost UFC middleweight title. The Australian MMA fighter again had to recognize his superior in Israel Adesanya. In Houston, the Nigerian-born New Zealander was again too strong.
Adesanya became UFC champion in October 2019 by defeating Whittaker. He successfully defended that title for the fourth time. Three times by unanimous decision of the jury, as in his rematch last night, and once by knockout.
The fight in Houston went straight. Adesanya had the upper hand in the first lap, but Whittaker was not easily knocked out and came back strong one lap later. On the final lap, Whittaker tried twice to knock Adesanya down, but the champion got up both times.
The next contender for the UFC middleweight title could be Jared Cannonier. He was the boss of Derek Brunson earlier in the evening. Cannonier said in the interview after the fight in the octagon that he wanted the next shot at the title and demanded that UFC president Dana White, who was at the cage, give him the chance.
In the co-main event, Tai Tuivasa defeated Houston-born heavyweight Derrick Lewis in the second round. Tuivasa, who has won five consecutive fights by knockout, recovered from a first round in which he went to the mat twice.
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