Israel Adesanya defeats Whittaker to retain UFC middleweight title

Israel Adesanya has beaten Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

Adesanya employed his length and reach to counter Whittaker’s boxing, ensuring he left the Octagon with his middleweight belt.

But the fight was very close, so much so that the crowd booed the decision, thinking Whittaker was the rightful winner.

“I knew he was gonna bring everything, because last time I took everything away from him,” Adesanya said.

“He had nothing to lose. Like I said, I’m the champ. You want it, come get it.”

Adesanya (22-1) had stopped Whittaker via second-round knockout at UFC 243 in October 2019 to win the title.

The Nigerian-born New Zealander is undefeated at middleweight but dropped a unanimous decision to then-light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in a UFC title fight at UFC 259 last March