Which fighter has beaten Israel Adesanya in the UFC?
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya reinstated his dominance over the middleweight division after beating Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision at UFC 263. He is still unbeaten at middleweight in his entire professional MMA career. However, 'The Last Stylebender' recently lost his undefeated record to Jan Blachowicz.
Blachowicz is the UFC light heavyweight champion and a legend in his country of Poland. He won the vacant title after knocking Dominick Reyes out. However, he was the underdog in his title fight, a trait that would repeat itself against Israel Adesanya.
His bout against Adesanya came as a surprise to the world of MMA, as the Nigerian had repeatedly said that he would move up to the light heavyweight division in 2022 or later. Nevertheless, the fight was made, and there wasn't any animosity between Israel Adesanya and Blachowicz, even after the completion of their fight.
However, the stakes were high for Adesanya as a loss would mean that he would also surrender his undefeated streak. That is exactly what happened, and Adesanya lost the fight after being dominated by Blachowicz. He came out flying in the first round, but the size disparity was blatantly obvious.
Adesanya weighed in at 193 pounds, over 15 pounds lighter than his opponent, and Blachowicz took full advantage of this. He took Adesanya to the mat and kept him there, earning himself a couple of 10-8s from the judges. It was a dominant unanimous decision win for the Polish powerhouse that handed Israel Adesanya his first loss.
Israel Adesanya "dared to be great"
The middleweight champion was classy in defeat. He gave Blachowicz the props he deserved and added that at least he "dared to be great." Adesanya lost the fight, but most fans would appreciate him trying to move up a division when he didn't need to.
Fighting is second nature to Israel Adesanya, and the fighter is almost synonymous with victory, but he has lost multiple times in his kickboxing career. He brought up his losses in the post-fight interview and added that he would learn from this one as well.
Watch Israel Adesanya's post-fight interview with Joe Rogan:
True to his words, 'The Last Stylebender' learned from his loss to Blachowicz. Adesanya put in a dominating performance at UFC 263. The result was there for everyone to see as he completely outclassed Marvin Vettori and nullified his wrestling, even taking him down efficiently. It was one of Israel Adesanya's best performances in a championship match, and it won't be his last.