Israel Adesanya tied for the second-lowest finishing rate among current UFC champions following UFC 276
Israel Adesanya handled business as usual in UFC 276's main event, successfully defending his middleweight championship against Jared Cannonier. But as Adesanya's title defenses have become more routine, a sense of monotony has imbued itself within his title bouts.
His showdown against Jared Cannonier was a cautious encounter between the two opponents, proving to be a let-down in terms of entertainment value. Both camps approached the fight tactically and did not commit to an aggressive strategy. The bout featured zero knockdowns and zero takedowns across five rounds.
Listen to the middleweight champion credit the two coaches for a great tactical battle:
It was widely touted as a snoozefest by fans, but ultimately Israel Adesanya came out on top as Cannonier did little to justify overthrowing the champ. Many joked that the flamboyant middleweight champ's Undertaker-themed entrance was the best part of the main event.
Watch the incredible Undertaker entrance recreated by Israel Adesanya below:
With yet another win by decision in a championship fight, Adesanya is now tied for the second-lowest finish rate amongst all current UFC champions. He is only ahead of Carla Esparza, the women's strawweight champion.
Check out the complete breakdown of wins for all current UFC champions:
Post #UFC276, Israel Adesanya has the second lowest UFC finishing rate amongst the current champions with Carla Esparza the only fighter below Stylebender. https://t.co/Ck0OW3fc1c
'The Last Stylebender' has now matched half of Anderson Silva's middleweight title defenses; however, Adesanya's reign does not seem nearly as dominant as the UFC legend's was. Out of his five title defenses, the Nigerian-born fighter only has one finish, with the rest of his fights going the distance and proving to be considerably less exciting.
Pit that against Silva's record, and it is put to shame by some margin. 'The Spider' only recorded two decision wins throughout the course of his 10 title defenses. This incredible feat is indicative of the Brazilian's supreme ability, as he laid waste to the likes of Chael Sonnen (twice), Vitor Belfort, and Nate Marquardt.
Israel Adesanya is on par with Alexander Volkanovski and Kamaru Usman
Interestingly, Israel Adesanya's second-to-last position is shared by fellow featherweight and welterweight champions Alexander Volkanovski and Kamaru Usman, respectively. All three have dominated the contenders in their respective divisions and rendered themselves virtually unbeatable.
Volkanovski's case was further reinforced at UFC 276 as he utterly dominated one of the greatest UFC featherweights of all-time, Max Holloway. 'The Great' himself addressed not finishing Holloway off, citing mutual respect as a reason.
So is it the case that the competition is so lacking that none of the UFC champs feel the need to exert themselves and risk being exposed to a finish? Are the days of aggressively striking and gunning down your opponents over?
Each of these three divisions now has a perennial contender—an excellent fighter who falls just short of the champion. The featherweight division has Max Holloway, who has now been swept in his trilogy against Alexander Volkanovski, all three of which were decision wins.
At welterweight, Colby Covington has tried and failed twice to dethrone Kamaru Usman from the welterweight throne. Similarly, Robert Whittaker has been unsuccessful in both his title fights against Israel Adesanya.
Is this shift in mentality a sign of things to come? Will fighters continue to be unwilling to take greater risks, instead opting to fine tune gameplans to secure a comfortable victory?
If so, the solution to explore other divisions and make the ultimate claim for pound-for-pound greatness could be the answer. Israel Adesanya has already forayed into the light heavyweight division, albeit unsuccessfully, but by no means is he done with that alternative.
His fight against Jan Blachowicz resulted in his first career loss, but 'The Last Stylebender' remained unfazed throughout the bout and proclaimed that he never felt threatened. His post-fight comments were a clear indication that he intends to go at it again.
This goes without mentioning his evergreen feud with Jon Jones. If that fight ever materializes, expect Adesanya to step out of his middleweight comfort zone.
Volkanovski also made his intentions clear in his post-fight octagon interview, promising to 'keep two divisions busy' by moving up to the stacked lightweight division and securing the vacant title.
Check out his interview with Joe Rogan:
Is it time to enter into another era of simultaneous, multi-divisional champions? If so, UFC 276 could be the turning point that serves as the catalyst.
Do check out the video below made by Sportskeeda: