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Israel Adesanya beat Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 to retain his middleweight title ( Image: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya comfortably defeated Robert Whittaker on Saturday night to retain his middleweight title at UFC 271 in Houston, Texas.
Over 16,000 fans packed into the Toyota Center to watch a middleweight title rematch almost three years in the making, which was preceded by hometown heavyweight Derrick Lewis’ hotly anticipated scrap with Tai Tuivasa.
Former WWE champion Booker T and social media star SteveWillDoIt were among the celebrities who opted to forgo Super Bowl celebrations in California to take in a massive night of fights.
And they were treated to an enthralling five-fight main card that included a striking masterclass from Bobby Green to beat Nasrat Haqparast.
Renato Moicano choked out Alexander Hernandez within two rounds of their meeting in the card’s opener after a fantastic back-and-forth bout.
Despite Adesanya winning their first meeting by way of a vicious knockout back in 2019, Whittaker had earned his rematch by way of three wins.
