In front of 6,000 fans at the Toyota Center, the incumbent UFC middleweight champion fought Whittaker for five rounds and won a unanimous decision in his fourth consecutive title defense.
The final scores were 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47, with Adesanya improving to 22-1 for the season.
Israel Adesanya retains his UFC middleweight title by defeating Whittaker.
“I knew he’d bring everything since I took everything away from him the last time,” Adesanya stated after his latest victory. “As a result, he had nothing to lose.” As I have stated, I am the champion; if you want it, come get it.”
Adesanya won the first three rounds, with Whittaker claiming the final two, according to judges Jacob Montalvo and Doug Crosby. All bar the second round, which Judge Mike Beltran awarded to Whittaker, had Adesanya winning.
According to UFC Stats, Adesanya outlanded Whittaker 79-59 in important strikes. Whittaker, however, landed more important head punches, 38-36, while Adesanya outlanded Whittaker in leg strikes, 29-13. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Whittaker landed four takedowns against Adesanya, tying Marvin Vettori for the most by any opponent in the UFC.
On ESPN’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings, Adesanya was ranked No. 2 while Whittaker was ranked No. 9. Adesanya was the middleweight champion, while Whittaker was the runner-up.
Adesanya (22-1) won the championship by knocking out Whittaker in the second round at UFC 243 in October 2019.