Now that Israel Adesanya has nudged Robert Whittaker out of his path, the UFC middleweight champion can set his sights on his ultimate destination: surpassing Anderson Silva.
Adesanya, the Nigeria-born New Zealander’s tight but unanimous decision victory over Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night in Houston was his fourth defense of the title. That breaks a tie with Chris Weidman for the second most times a 185-pounder has successfully put the UFC belt up for grabs.
And now that second place is Adesanya’s alone, he had better make himself comfortable. It is going to remain his home for years — so long as he’s able to continue winning to hold onto his spot, and no one emerges to challenge his firm grasp on that distinction.
The record for UFC middleweight title defenses is 10, held by you-know-who.
Silva put up many of the greatest numbers the weight class has seen. Upon joining the UFC in 2006, Silva created and enhanced his legend while rolling off 13 consecutive wins at middleweight. But some of Silva’s accomplishments are already within reach, as Adesanya has now won his first 11 UFC fights at 185 pounds.
But Adesanya’s pursuit of the crown of greatest ever is not simply a numbers game. That crown is bejeweled, which means it sparkles when the spotlight hits. And that is where…
Source : espn
