UFC 234: Israel Adesanya Defeats Anderson Silva via Unanimous Decision

The torch has been passed as the matchup between Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya has finally wrapped up.

Billed as a battle of old vs. new, Adesanya showed the same confidence and precision that made Silva the greatest striker in UFC history. 

The 43-year-old Silva saw flashes of his former self in the 29-year-old Adesanya as well. It was 

It was a tough battle for the two masters of kickboxing as their scheduled contest was bumped to the main event.

Everyone in attendance at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia got their money's worth despite the outcome going the distance.

The judges' scores at  were 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27 in favor of Adesanya.

Impromptu headliner

The Adesanya-Silva fight was not originally scheduled for the main event.

A title match between UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum was the original headliner.

The title match was cancelled however when Whittaker suffered a Hernia injury hours before the scheduled main event. 

Mutual respect

It is expected that the younger Adesanya will be the quicker fighter. He showed an impressive mix of well roundedness on his feet.

Silva on the other hand tried to use his veteran experience in trying to psych out his younger opponent. He used faints and hesitations to keep things intresting.

The fight was anybody's to win as each competitor was capable of knocking out the other. It was Adesanya's conditioning that won him the fight as Silva seemed to slow down in the latter rounds.

Both fighters showed a lot of mutual respect after the fight with Adesanya telling Silva how he idolized the longtime UFC middleweight champion during his prime.

"This is crazy, this is like for a kid just to play. If I'm playing basketball, to play Michael Jordan," Adesanya said. 

Silva was considered the greatest poind-for-pound fighter during his prime. His middleweight title reign from 2006-13 remains to be the longest in UFC history. He has now lost three of his last four fights.

Adesanya on the other hand stays undefeated with a 16-0 record. Five of those wins are in the UFC.


Is a title shot next for Adesanya? What's next for Silva? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

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