Israel Adesanya was chuffed to bits after his UFC 253 win and almost knocked out Jon Anik
UFC 253 saw Jon Anik come inside the Octagon to conduct the post-fight interviews and was almost taken out by Israel Adesanya.
The Last Stylebender came off an incredible win over challenger Paulo Costa. Adesanya, the UFC Middleweight champion, came into this clash with a 19-0 record.
Costa, for his part, was 13-0 but was completely dominated by Adesanya from the first second. The Brazilian’s legs were destroyed in the first round with several kicks from Adesanya.
The Stylebender was barely touched by Costa as the main event could have gotten to him. Adesanya didn’t look fazed one bit by Costa’s mind games in the first round and made a big move in the second.
His head kick took Costa out and that was followed by a punch and some ground and pound. The referee stopped the fight in the second round as Adesanya celebrated with some dance moves.
However, he was completely in the mood and was celebrating in front of the camera showing off some moves and was close to taking out Anik.
That was close 😳😂 @Jon_Anik #UFC253 pic.twitter.com/5TDZbSRZQw
— Jade Morris (@JadeMorrisMMA) September 27, 2020
Adesanya sends a message
Anik was a little lucky that he wasn’t closer to Adesanya or the Stylebender would have had two knockouts in one night.
However, the Stylebender knows what he is doing in the Octagon and was in complete control over Costa.
This was supposed to be Adesanya’s toughest test in the UFC. However, Costa was nowhere near the level of the champion.
Adesanya was just on another playing field and that is an ominous message for his rivals. The Middleweight division still has some top stars such as Robert Whittaker, but it seems unlikely anyone can take Adesanya’s belt away from him.
Izzy is possibly the best Middleweight the UFC might have seen. And he will go down as one of the greatest MMA athletes of all time.
The 31-year-old is only getting better with time and there could be more Middleweight domination for the next few years.
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