MMA fighter, Israel Adesanya remains undefeated as he beats Brazilian Middleweight legend Anderson Silva in UFC 234 last night in Australia.
The win keeps Adesanya’s MMA’s record at an unblemished 16-0 (16-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC). The three judges unanimously adjudge him the winner, scoring him (29-28, 30-28, 30-28).
The wins moves the Nigerian a step closer to a shot at the UFC Middleweight title, and a confident Adesanya took a shot at the title holder, Kevin Gastelum who was ringside with a belt.
“Put the belt down seriously” he joked.
“what will you do when I run wild on you.”
This is Adesanya, nicknamed the stylebender’s fifth fight in the UFC, after victories against Rob Wilkinson, Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares, and Derek Brunson.
The lead up to the fight garnered a lot of press, mainly because of their similar fighting styles and the perception it was a fight that would eventually signal a change of guard – from Anderson to Adesanya.
Adesanya, despite his obvious respect for Anderson, said: “He’s (Anderson) the GOAT (greatest of all time), but I’m Nigerian and I’ve been eating goat meat since I was a kid.”
After the match, Adesanya compared the fight to kids playing basketball against Michael Jordan.
Anderson, still emotional, hugged Adesanya and said: “I pass it to you. You are the best.”