UFC 243 saw the coronation of Israel Adesanya as UFC Middleweight champion.

One of the most talented strikers the sport has ever seen, Israel Adesanya showed exactly why so many people have been high on his potential. At UFC 243 the undefeated Adesanya had his hands full facing off against UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, a unique striker in his own right who was undefeated since moving up in weight from the Welterweight division.

Where so many of us, fans and experts alike, thought we’d be in for an extended war between two talented strikers, what we received was a far cry from initial expectations. Israel Adesanya showed up and showed out at UFC 243 in a way no one was quite expecting.

Not only did Israel Adesanya get the party started with a spirited dance performance on his way to the cage, he went on to defeat Robert Whittaker in a manner that could only be described as complete domination.

From the start Whittaker couldn’t quite get himself into the fight and Israel Adesanya was able to exploit the champion’s aggression with some well placed offense, sniping from the outside.

Adesanya eventually closed the show with a devastating left hook counter in the second frame securing the UFC Middleweight championship.

Want more detail on how Israel Adesanya got the job done at UFC 243? Then checkout the podcast below for a in-depth breakdown!

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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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Who won the battle between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya?

The main event of UFC 243 featured a Middleweight title bout against reigning champion Robert Whittaker and Interim champ Israel Adesanya, two elite and unique strikers aiming to assert their dominance over the division.

Reigning UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker made his long awaited return against an undefeated foe that has run roughshod over the division. When Israel Adesanya made his debut in the UFC, few MMA fans knew exactly how special a fighter the former kickboxing champion was. After his battle with Kelvin Gastellum, the fans, the UFC brass, and the Middleweight division have been put on notice, including champion Robert Whittaker.

 

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? Put it all in the line… Speak your truth Talk your shit and back it up… every damn time!! #neverbackdown #oneouts #thatsus #UFC243

A post shared by Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) on Oct 4, 2019 at 9:43pm PDT

When the dust settled on their UFC 243 main event contest, Israel Adesanya took the victory over Robert Whittaker by knockout in the second round.

Did the fight play out how it was broken down? Take a look at the analysis video below.

Did you tune in for UFC 243?

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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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Robert Whittaker vs Israel Adesanya could be a battle for the ages!

Reigning UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is set to make his long awaited return against an undefeated foe that has run roughshod over the division. When Israel Adesanya made his debut in the UFC, few MMA fans knew exactly how special a fighter the former kickboxing champion was. After his battle with Kelvin Gastellum, the fans, the UFC brass, and the Middleweight division have been put on notice, including champion Robert Whittaker.

South Pacific Rivalry

There’s a clear rivalry between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

While neither man is native to the country they currently call home, Robert Whittaker being born in New Zealand now living in Australia and Israel Adesanya hailing from Nigeria now calling New Zealand home, both have become embroiled in an longstanding South Pacific rivalry.

This deep ceded rivalry between Australia (Whittaker) and New Zealand (Adesanya). That rivalry means there is a lot on the line for both men and it could mean big fireworks and a ton of heart on display come Saturday night.

Not Your Average Strikers

Both Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya employ some pretty unique striking. Both have styles that are difficult to replicate and both have benefited because of their unique approach to the game. While Robert Whittaker maintains a boxing/karate fusion in the cage, Israel Adesanya has blended countless striking martial arts to create something all his own.

These two men possess the kind of potent striking that has led them to a combined 22 knockouts out of 37 victories during their MMA career. Those kinds of percentages could mean one of these men won’t make it the full 25 minute distance. The only problem with that notion is that both men have a tremendous amount of heart and are willing to risk everything every time they step inside the Octagon.

How Does Each Man Secure Victory?

If you’re wondering how Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya can get the victory, look no further. The below video and audio podcast should be able to give you some key examples of how each fighter can get the job done.

Who do you think wins the UFC 243 main event?

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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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Jacare Souza is at peace.

Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, 38, has enjoyed one hell of a career, but lately it has been anything but smooth. Last April, the Middleweight contender suffered a torn pec, and shortly after an infected appendix which ended up bursting. In January, he returned to KO Derek Brunson in a cathartic win and now feels he is ready to end his career on top.

“When I’m happy, no one can beat me. So in two fights, I’ll be Middleweight champion of the UFC,” he told MMAJunkie. “It’s just confidence.”

He said that despite some considerations of retirement during his time off, he has complete confidence in his decision to return and take one last crack at the title.

“I don’t really have this problem with the idea of stopping because I don’t want to risk my health. I’d thought about stopping before because I thought maybe I couldn’t fight at a high level anymore. That’s was what made me think about that. The day things start getting tough, I’ll stop.”

Souza’s next bout will be in two weeks. A May 12th co-headliner at UFC 224 against Kelvin Gastelum in Jacare Souza’s home country of Brazil. He has since relocated for his family and training, and is happy with the change.

“Wherever you throw me, I can handle myself. I left home at 15, so adjusting to new places isn’t that hard. But I’m happy because my family is doing well. They’re doing well. I’m doing well. I found a good place to train, with good people to help me. Good coaches, good training partners, so it’s all been going very well.”

Gastelum is considered the new breed of talent. Jacare admits Gastelum and his breed represent the future of fighting, but believes he himself still represents the present.

“That’s the natural order of things: You leave, and younger people come in. That’s just how life is and I see no problem with that. I just have the conviction and certainty that I can still fight at a high level and that I can still be champion.”

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Robert Whittaker is looking to shut down Yoel Romero once again.

UFC Middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker and number-one contender Yoel “Soldier Of God” Romero have fought once before- in the main event of UFC 213 last summer. Whittaker won an impressive unanimous decision with a torn MCL. Now, after a shocking KO of former champion Luke Rockhold Romero has again earned a shot at Whittaker, who now holds the undisputed belt. The two will face off in the main event of UFC 225 in Chicago.

On Wednesday, Submission Radio got ahold of Whittaker and picked his brain on the upcoming contest. An interesting wrinkle to Yoel’s win over Rockhold was that Yoel didn’t actually make weight and Rockhold took the fight anyway. Whittaker says he would do no such thing:

“Nah, no way. Like, why would you? I don’t understand anyone who takes fights when their opponent doesn’t make weight. It’s like, if you rock up at 87 kilos, which is what Romero did — It was like 86 kilos or something like that — then why don’t I rock up at 95? What’s the difference?… So, if you don’t make weight, I’m not fighting you. I’ll give the shot to someone else who can make the weight, who can do their freaking job.”

Many have speculated that as an exceptional competitor, Romero deliberately missed weight betting that Rockhold would still accept the fight. It sounds like this wont be an option against the champ.

As far as the fight itself, Whittaker doesn’t see Yoel making any adaptations for the second time around:

“I don’t think he’s at a point where he can make drastic changes. I don’t think he can change anything that will really make an impact for this next fight. But that’s all my speculation, so who knows?

“I’m gonna be fitter and I’m not gonna have a bum knee. I’m gonna have, like you said, I felt him out, so I’m gonna work on certain things that I know is going to stump him.

“I hope and I pray that he fights me like he fought Rockhold. I mean.. think about it- a stationary target in front of me…hehe, yea alright.”

Romero recently made an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, during which he talked about his upbringing in Cuba, wrestling career, and much much more.

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The UFC is in dire need of Heavyweight prospects, and Tai Tuivasa may be their golden boy.

The problem in heavyweight divisions has always been that everyone has power, so experience, rather than athleticism, often carries the day. This means that the top of the division is stacked with old dogs who have all fought each other and been knocked out several times. It’s tough to bring a fresh prospect through these ranks.

After his electric performance at UFC 223 in Perth, Tai Tuivasa has now signed a four-fight contract with the UFC, according to MMAFighting. No time has been wasted, and Tuivasa is already slated to face the veteran Andrei Arlovski at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago.

At age 25, Tuivasa (7-0), has won all seven of his professional bouts via either KO or TKO in the first round, the last two being UFC victories.

This fight means that Andrei (27-15) will have a chance to perform for his hometown Chicago fans.

He currently rides a two-fight winning streak, with the most recent coming via decision over Stefan Struve at UFC 222. He showed an interesting new wrinkle to his game in that fight: takedowns, landing more than in all his previous UFC contests combined.

It’s pretty obvious what the UFC wants here. Arlovski has double-digit knockout losses and has won two fights in his last seven fights, although they were the most recent two. Tuivasa is nothing if not an aggressive knockout artist. He moves shockingly well for a man of his size and body composition, winning his first UFC fight with a flying knee. One of his best weapons is his right elbow, which he will likely be applied inside of Arlovski’s wide punches. Look for Tuivasa to take this one by KO, although it is Heavyweight, where anything can happen.

UFC 225 will be held on June 9th in the United Center. The main event will be a highly anticipated rematch for the UFC Middleweight belt between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero.

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Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa impress at UFC 221.

This past Saturday, UFC 221 in Perth displayed some promising local talent. Among the best winners on the card were good friends Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa. Both achieved spectacular finish victories and set their home crowd on fire.

At lightheavyweight, Tyson submitted Saparbek Safarov in the first round with a kimura, improving his record to 7-1.

Primarily a striker, Pedro was content to stand and bang with Safarov in the early going. He did a good job avoiding the takedowns and landing damage. Late in the round Safarov pinned pedro to the fence with a bodylock, and Pedro laced up his arm with a double wrist lock. He turned it violently behind the Safarov’s back, forcing him to the ground where he finished the submission.

“Man we haven’t practiced Kimuras at all,” Pedro said post fight. “But he was really low on it and I grabbed on and just ripped it, I know he wasn’t going to hold on. I put my leg up and just got it. He hit pretty hard for a Dadbod.”

All seven of Pedro’s wins have been first-round stoppages, this put’s him in great position to move up the shallow lightheavyweight division.

Heavyweight, Tai Tuivasa had a similarly impressive win

The 24-year-old nicknamed “Bam Bam” is now 2-0 with two KO’s in the UFC, the first coming at UFC Sydney a few months ago.

Tuivasa brutalized his opponent Cyril Asker for the majority of the fight. Cyril was grounded by a push when the referee realized he was all but unconscious and finally waved the fight off.

“I just want to fight, keep getting paid, baby,” Tuivasa said.

Tuivasa is now 7-0 with seven first-round knockouts.

The two friends have started a podcast called the Halfcast Podcast, which has already featured some impressive Aussie guests including Mark Hunt, Robert Whittaker, and John Wayne Parr. Undamaged, they will each likely fight again this summer, ideally on a card with fellow countryman and Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

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Robert Whittaker was suffering from a ton of injuries.

UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker’s withdrawal from his UFC 221 bout against Luke Rockhold was a shock to the MMA world and a major blow to the UFC.

Now, with Rockhold set to face Yoel Romero for the interim title instead, Whittaker went on The MMA Hour to detail the disturbing series of illnesses the forced the withdrawal.

First off, apparently the champ blew out his hamstring.

“I’ve gone into many fights injured. I went into the Yoel Romero fight with a torn MCL, I went into multiple fights with broken hands, and that’s never deterred me. And during my prep and my camp, I did my hamstring — I did blow my hamstring out — but I was willing to work around it. So we just worked around it, threw it on the wall, no explosive sort of stuff, and then I got an abscess infection.”

He says that the infection put him in bed. Then the antibiotics severely drained him of energy and weakened his immune system to the point where he contracted a colon bug. On top of that, during recovery from the infection, he contracted chicken pox:

“It was the sickest I’ve been in my entire life.”

Whittaker says his coaching staff and family confronted him about pulling out of the fight.

“They all went to me and sat me down, almost like an intervention, and said, ‘Rob, there is zero chance you’re going to be able to fight. Even if you did get in there, it is so unsafe for you to go out there with no prep and your body as weak as it is.’”

Robert also said he has a hard time telling people what really floored him was the chicken pox. Usually when one pictures chicken pox, it’s a person with benign little red itchy dots all over their body. According to Whittaker, it’s a bit more intense.

“No, these were like blisters from head to toe all over my scalp, and because I had so many, some of them were popping and getting infected, and then there were fevers and headaches and nausea. It was just the worst thing, not to mention the itch.”

“I was even on the phone with my mom and I was like, ‘Why didn’t you get me vaccinated as a kid?’” he added, laughing. “She was like, ‘I’m sure I did!’ And my face is covered and my skin is red, I’m like, ‘I’m pretty sure you didn’t.’”

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Robert Whittaker in serious condition.

On January 14, UFC Middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker, shocked the MMA world by announcing that he was medically unfit to defend the title against Former champion Luke Rockhold. The fight was set to take place in Whittaker’s home country of Australia at UFC 221, Perth. The champ declined to offer a specific medical condition that disqualified him from competition, but assured the fans they would receive a fantastic Interim title fight in Rockhold vs Yoel “The Soldier Of God” Romero.

Most fans assumed that Whittaker’s compromising condition was related to the knee injury he suffered against Yoel Romero in their title fight last year. Whittaker said that he had sustained an injury in camp, and Yoel stomping on his knee in the first round sprained the MCL sprain, which left Robert unstable for the rest of their fight.
However, the MCL is an extremely robust ligament and, unlike others, has an impressive ability to repair itself. Whittaker had mentioned in several interviews that he was already back to training full tilt just months after the victory over Yoel.

This Saturday, at UFC Boston, Dana White revealed that Whittaker’s condition was far more serious than a sprained MCL.

He told TSN.com, “He had staph infection in his stomach. From what I understand it wasn’t treated properly and started to eat away at parts of his organs. He’s in serious condition, so it’s going to be a minute before he’s back, I think. Hopefully it turns around quick, but that stuff is life threatening if not treated the right way.”

Staph infections are notorious in the grappling community, and can be deadly if left untreated until late stages or treated improperly. Fortunately, most afflicted make full recoveries, provided they do not contract an antibiotic resistant strain.

Whittaker has been posting some recovery photos on social media, and it seems he is no longer hospitalized. Knowing Whittaker, he will want to defend his title as soon as possible, but for now Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero will decide his first contender at their spectacular bout at UFC 221.

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Looks like Luke Rockhold will meet Yoel Romero at UFC 221.

UFC Middleweight Champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker made a post on Instagram, in which he announced he would have to withdrawal from his inaugural title defense against Former Champion Luke Rockhold which was set to take place at UFC 221 Perth, Australia, the champion’s home country.

Monday on The MMA Hour, Luke Rockhold appeared to discuss what’s next. He had nothing negative to say about Whittaker:

“I wish him the best and I know Whittaker’s not a man to run away from anything. I respect that kid and I wish him the best. I hope it’s not too serious.”

Now it appears top contender Yoel Romero will step up to fight Rockhold on short notice. Rockhold says he is game to fight the terrifying Cuban, even after preparing for Whittaker.

“Yoel was the option right off the bat, and I’m ready to fight as long as the money’s right, the belt’s on the line. Yoel would’ve happened now or later, one or the other, so it doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure I would’ve fought him after Whittaker, so either order, it doesn’t matter the order. Yoel first, it’s a very similar fight. Very explosive, athletic guys, so just contain them.”

Rockhold believes that Romero will actually be an easier fight, despite the fact that he has only lost once in the past five years.

“I think Yoel has more holes to expose in his game,” Rockhold added. “I think Whittaker’s tighter. I think he’s harder to get to, whereas Yoel will kinda leave himself open. So, very similar fights, but I like this matchup.”

Romero has a patently uncontrollable and explosive style. He was an Olympic Silver medalist in wrestling, and brings that strong mindset into the cage. One weakness has been shown to be his endurance. Romero is heavily muscled and more prone to fatigue. Rockhold expects to exploit this.

“I think Yoel, his body is suspect,” Rockhold said. “I think his body can only go so — the way he fights, I think he can only push so hard for so long. Mentally, I think he has it. I mean, he has the will to win even when he’s tired. It’s about making his body quit, and that’s what I plan to do.”

Ultimately, Luke Rockhold is still trying to cement himself as the best in the world, and he believes that a win over Yoel Romero is a convincing case:

“It is what it is at this point,” Rockhold said. “I think beating Yoel will speak for itself. I think it’ll speak to who the real champion is. Whittaker is a stud and I believe in the kid, but he couldn’t put Yoel away. So if I go out there and I put Yoel away, I think it speaks volumes, so I’m set to do what I think I can do.”

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