After wreaking havoc in kickboxing, Israel Adesanya took the MMA world by storm through his performances inside the octagon. It wasn’t very late that he successfully fought against some of the biggest names in UFC. Adesanya’s triumph over some of the best in UFC establishes him as a solid UFC middleweight champion of the world.
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While it may have just been two years since Adesanya made his UFC debut, he started his MMA career back in 2012. And the signs of a future champion were always there.
He took on Song Kenan in his third MMA fight and showed why the former kickboxing champion was a real threat to the middleweight division. Song currently competes under UFC in the welterweight division and has an impressive record with 15 wins and five losses.
Adesanya knocks Kenan in the first round
With two back to back first-round victories in his first two MMA matches, Adesanya was the stronger fighter going into the match. And rightfully so, as he disseminated Kenan’s plans of attacking him and won comfortably in the first round.
Adesanya is regularly questioned on his abilities to finish the fight. However, the middleweight champion has always proved his critics wrong. There were some brilliant moments in the game, as Adesanya motioned his opponent to get up and fight on his foot, claiming authority during the fight and controlling the pace of the game.
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What transpired at the closing moments of the fight is something that you don’t see often. Song Kenan dropped to the ground intentionally to call Adesanya for a fight on the mat. However, it was Kenan’s last mistake. Adesanya followed Kenan’s word and dropped for brutal ground and pound. He used elbows and punches in reply to Kenan’s invitation and pulled off one of the most dramatic victories in MMA.
What’s next for Israel Adesanya?
Adesanya is in talks to face Yoel Romero for the UFC middleweight championship. It comes after his championship match with Paulo Costa fell apart due to injury.
Romero is a former title contender and is considered as one of the most dangerous fighters in the division.