The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to Toyota Center in Houston, Texas tonight for UFC 271: “Adesanya vs Whittaker 2.” The event featured a UFC Middleweight Championship rematch between champion Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and challenger Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker.
In the heavyweight co-main event, Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis battled Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa. Elsewhere on the main card, Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier took on Derek Brunson in a middleweight contender’s bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC 271 event.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya vs Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker
Round 1:
Whittaker threw cautious leg kicks from a distance in the opening minute and Adesanya jabbed. He began to attack Whittaker’s lead leg with kicks and Whittaker blocked a head kick. Adesanya dropped him with a straight left, but Whittaker got back to his feet. Adesanya easily stuffed a takedown and he landed a leg kick and a left hook. Late in the round, Adesanya landed a liver kick. 10-9 Adesanya.
Round 2:
In the second round, Whittaker pressed forward with lead left hands and Adesanya countered with a right hook and a leg kick. He stepped into a left hook from Whittaker, who took Adesanya down against the cage. Adesanya got back to his feet and he circled away to his left. Another leg kick scored for Adesanya and he went high with a head kick that was blocked. Both men landed jabs and a leg kick apiece in the final minute. Close round. 10-9 Adesanya by a slim margin due to damage.
Round 3:
Adesanya kicked at the lead leg of Whittaker, who used his jab to set up an overhand right. He shot in for a takedown and Adesanya countered with a front headlock and a knee. Whittaker caught a head kick and took Adesanya down, but Adesanya was able to get to his feet with Whittaker on his back. He used a standing kimura on Whittaker’s left arm to shake him off. Adesanya hurt Whittaker with a hard kick to his lead leg, but Whittaker stayed on his feet and he landed a left hook. Adesanya scored with a kick to the chest just before the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Adesanya.
Round 4:
Another strong leg kick scored for Adesanya in the opening minute of round four. Whittaker missed with lead left hooks, but he was able to take Adesanya down and hopped on his back as Adesanya stood up. Whittaker worked for a standing rear-naked choke, but Adesanya defended well and shook him off. Both men landed jabs and Adesanya targeted Whittaker’s lead leg with another kick. He followed with more leg kicks and a right hook. Whittaker landed an uppercut and he clinched with 35 seconds to go. After separating, Whittaker landed a right hook late in the round and he blocked a head kick. 10-9 Whittaker, just barely.
Round 5:
Whittaker landed a lunging jab that briefly backed Adesanya up in the final round, but he was unable to follow up. Adesanya stuffed a takedown and time was called when Whittaker was poked in the eye. Action quickly resumed and Whittaker secured a takedown. Adesanya stood up and Whittaker maintained back control. Adesanya turned into the clinch and landed a jumping knee to Whittaker’s chest, but he ate a counter hook for his efforts and circled away. Whittaker almost secured another takedown, but Adesanya maintained his balance and a clinch ensued. Whittaker threw short knees to Whittaker’s thighs and almost whipped him to the mat, but Adesanya stayed up again and the fight ended in a clinch. 10-9 Whittaker.
Winner: Israel Adesanya by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 22-1-0 and remains the UFC Middleweight Champion.
Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa vs Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis
Round 1:
Tuivasa opened the action with a leg kick and he clinched after ducking under a right hook from Lewis. Nothing transpired in the clinch and the fighters were separated. Lewis landed a hard right hook and he secured a leg sweep takedown. As Tuivasa tried to get back to his feet against the cage, Lewis unloaded with huge right hands to the side of his face. Tuivasa survived and stood up, but Lewis whipped him back down to the mat. Tuivasa got to his knees and stood, then held Lewis against the fence until the bell. 10-9 Lewis.
Round 2:
Lewis stunned Tuivasa with right hooks and uppercuts in the second round that led to a clinch against the cage as Tuivasa recovered. He stuffed a Lewis takedown and both men landed big right hands. Tuivasa rocked Lewis with two right hooks and then followed with an elbow to the temple that sent Lewis crashing face-first to the mat and ended the fight.
Winner: Tai Tuivasa by KO (Punches & Elbow) at 1:40 of round two. He improves to 14-3-0.
Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier vs Derek Brunson
Round 1:
Cannonier landed two overhand rights early in the fight and he shrugged off one clinch attempt from Brunson, who dropped to his knees in an effort to take Cannonier down. Cannonier countered with elbows to the side of Brunson’s head. Brunson picked him up and dumped him to the mat, but Cannonier returned to his feet almost immediately. Brunson landed two overhand lefts that backed Cannonier up and Brunson tripped him to the mat again. He briefly took mount, but Cannonier got back to half-guard. Cannonier powered out from the bottom and stood up, but Brunson floored him with a counter right hook. He locked on a face crank across Cannonier’s chin, but Cannonier made it to the bell. 10-9 Brunson.
Round 2:
Brunson immediately took Cannonier down into half-guard in the second round. Cannonier got back to his feet and he landed a right hook. Brunson’s movement slowed way down, but he still landed two laboured left hands. Cannonier answered with a right cross and he stuffed a takedown. More right hands landed for Cannonier as the round progressed and Brunson failed with a takedown attempt. Cannonier hurt him with an elbow and did further damage with punches and a knee. Brunson fell to the mat and Cannonier battered him with punches and elbows until Brunson went out and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Jared Cannonier by KO (Punches & Elbows) at 4:29 of round two. He improves to 15-5-0.
Renato “Moicano” Carneiro vs Alexander “The Great” Hernandez
Round 1:
Carneiro worked for a takedown against the cage and briefly got Hernandez down, but Hernandez got back to his feet. Carneiro retained a waist lock and he slammed Hernandez down into side control. Hernandez regained half-guard and he tried unsuccessfully to power out from the bottom. His second attempt fared better and he got back to his feet. Hernandez jabbed and flurried to the body. Carneiro slowed down, but he did landed a nice shovel uppercut late in the round. 10-9 Carneiro.
Round 2:
Hernandez lost his balance when he stepped into an elbow from Carneiro early in round two. He returned to his feet and both men landed jabs. Hernandez began to bleed from his nose and Carneiro backed Hernandez up with a flurry of punches and a knee. A stunned Hernandez fell to his knees and Carneiro quickly took his back and secured a rear-naked choke, forcing Hernandez to tap out.
Winner: Renato Carneiro by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:23 of round two. He improves to 16-4-1.
Bobby “King” Green vs Nasrat Haqparast
Round 1:
Nothing significant landed for either fighter until a minute into the round when Green was poked in the eye. Time was called for him to recover and then Haqparast sustained an eye poke after the restart. Action resumed after a short break and Green landed a straight left hand. Haqparast responded with a hard leg kick that got his attention. Both men landed jabs and Haqparast followed with another leg kick. More jabs landed for both men and Green scored with a nice one-two as Haqparast’s face reddened. Green finished the round with a three-punch combo. 10-9 Green.
Round 2:
Green continued to score with jabs and straight lefts as Haqparast began to bleed from his nose and a cut on his cheek. He landed a quick combo, but Green kept him at bay with jabs and quick left hands. An overhand left scored for Haqparast and he landed another one seconds later. Green jabbed and Haqparast continued to throw overhand lefts. Green followed up on a four-punch flurry with two straight lefts as Haqparast’s face continued to swell. Haqparast landed a left hook in the final minute, but Green continued to pierce his guard with jabs and straight left hands. Haqparast picked up the pace with jabs and a head kick attempt late in the round, but Green tagged him with another combination before the bell. 10-9 Green.
Round 3:
Green caught a kick early in round three, but he let go of Haqparast’s leg and resumed jabbing him in the nose. He mixed in uppercuts and hooks to the body while Haqparast’s counter left hooks appeared to have no effect. Haqparast could not close the distance as Green landed jab after jab. Haqparast eventually attempted a head kick, but Green blocked it and Haqparast had no answers for Green’s jab-cross combinations. Haqparast landed a left hook late in the fight and ate a four-punch flurry from Green for his efforts. 10-9 Green.
Winner: Bobby Green by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 29-12-1.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)