Interim champion Israel Adesanya has dethroned UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker with a stunning knockout in the second round of their highly anticipated 185-pound unification bout, which headlined UFC 243 in Melbourne.
New Zealand-based Nigerian-born Adesanya landed a right hook which floored Whittaker in the final seconds of the first round and ended the fight in the second of the five-round contest with a left hook.
In all, it took Adesanya 3 minutes 35 seconds.
It was New Zealand-born Australian Whittaker’s first fight since June 2018 in Chicago. The 28-year-old Whittaker was scheduled to fight in February but withdrew due to emergency bowel surgery.
In the build-up to the main fight two of Adesanya’s City Kickboxing team-mates had wins.
New Zealand fighter Brad Riddell kicked off his UFC career in thrilling fashion with a unanimous decision victory over Australian Jamie Mullarkey, while Dan Hooker dominated his opponent Al Iaquinta to win in three rounds.
Hamilton’s Luke Jumeau suffered a split decision defeat to Brazilian Dhiego Lima on the main card.
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