UFC 271 results: Israel Adesanya defeats Robert Whittaker in close rematch: Tai Tuivasa KO's Derrick Lewis

Follow UFC 274 live. Israel Adesanya retained his middleweight belt by defeating former champion Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) at UFC 271 on Saturday in Houston.
Greg Rosenstein
UFC 271 results: Israel Adesanya defeats Robert Whittaker in close rematch: Tai Tuivasa KO's Derrick Lewis
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Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Summary

Follow UFC 274 live.

Israel Adesanya retained his middleweight belt by defeating former champion Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) at UFC 271 on Saturday in Houston. The victory was Adesanya’s (22-1) fourth title defense and his 11-fight UFC win streak at middleweight is the second-longest in division history behind Anderson Silva’s 13 in a row.

Adesanya, with a height and reach advantage, found success at range throughout the night and continuously attacked Whittaker’s lead leg. Whittaker had moments — landing several takedown attempts — but none resulted in any significant damage on the titleholder in a close bout.

Betting odds (courtesy of BetMGM)

  • Israel Adesanya defeats Robert Whittaker by unanimous decision
  • Tai Tuivasa defeats Derrick Lewis by second-round KO
  • Jared Cannonier defeats Derek Brunson by second-round TKO
  • Renato Moicano defeats Alexander Hernandez by second-round submission
  • Bobby Green defeats Nasrat Haqparast by unanimous decision
  • Andrei Arlovski defeats Jared Vanderaa by split decision
  • Casey O'Neill defeates Roxanne Modafferi by split decision
  • Kyler Phillips defeats Marcelo Rojo by third-round submission
  • Carlos Ulberg defeats Fabio Cherant by unanious decision
  • Ronnie Lawrence defeats Leomana Martinez by unanimous decision
  • Jacob Malkoun defeats A.J. Dobson by unanimous decision
  • Douglas Silva de Andrade defeats Sergey Morozov by second-round submission
  • Jeremiah Wells defeats Mike Mathetha by first-round submission
  • Maxim Grishin defeats William Knight by unanimous decision

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(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

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Round 5: Whittaker finds moments but too little too late

Whittaker tries for a single-leg takedown but is unsuccessful. Izzy eye poke halts the action momentarily. Whittaker takes a shot and gets the takedown. Adesanya back up quickly against the cage. Left hook out of the break for Whittaker lands.

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Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Round 4: Whittaker going to need a finish

Adesanya lands a knee to the body. Whittaker ducks a punch attempt and takes Adesanya down. Whittaker climbs Adesanya’s back, trying to take the neck. Adesanya quickly gets out. Whittaker lands a short uppercut but it doesn’t appear to do much damage. Nice straight right by Whittaker, who blocks an Adesanya head kick.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Round 3: Adesanya still in control, though Whittaker finding moments

Kick to the body by Adesanya. Whittaker and Adesanya trade straight shots before both backed out. Adesanya goes for the high kick but Whittaker dodges the attempt and takes him down. Adesanya gets up but Whittaker is on his back. Adesanya breaks free. Adesanya lands a heavy leg kick.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Round 2: Close round go go either way

Whittaker came out a bit more aggressive, trying to close distance. He landed a nice jab 1:35 into the 2nd but his punches appear a bit more wild. He did land a straight left and then caught Adesanya lunging forward and got the takedown attempt. Adesanya quickly got back up.

Whittaker might have taken that close round. He landed the more significant damage there, though Adesanya still in control. This round could go either way.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Adesanya takes Round 1

Adesanya constantly attacked the lead leg of Whittaker. Straight left dropped Whittaker but he popped back up. Adesanya very comfortable and very calm out there. In full control through 1.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Main event time

This fight will come down to whether Whittaker can land the takedown. He won't win purely on the feet against Adesanya, who is arguably the best striker in the entire sport.

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Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Tuivasa with a 2nd-round finish

Tai Tuivasa knocked out Derrick Lewis in the second round. Elbow against the cage sent Lewis immediately to the mat after a back-and-forth exchange.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Derrick Lewis takes Round 1

Lewis tripped Tuivasa to the mat with 2 minutes left in Round 1. Lewis threw multiple haymakers as Tuivasa attempted to get up alongside the cage. Lewis landed another takedown attempt with 45 seconds left in the first but didn't land much. He easily controlled that opening round.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Cannonier with violent finish in 2nd

Cannonier landed a hard elbow midway through the 2nd that dazed Brunson. He stumbled around the cage before hitting the mat. Cannonier landed hard elbows on Brunson’s before the referee stepped in to end it early.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Brunson right hook drops Cannonier

Almost got the submission but ran out of time after sending Cannonier to the mat with a right hook in final minute of first round. Brunson all over Cannonier with wrestling.

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Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Renato Moicano with slick submission win

Moicano landed a left hook followed by a right hook that sent Hernandez against the cage. Moicano took the fight to the mat, sunk in the underhooks and submitted Hernandez via rear-naked choke in the 2nd round.

Moicano is 3-1 in his last four bouts. He called for a bonus for his performance.

Greg Rosenstein
Greg Rosenstein·
Managing Editor, Combat

Bobby Green defeats Nasrat Haqparast by unanimous decision

Bobby Green with a dominant performance against Nasrat Haqparast, winning via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 271. Green landed 163 significant strikes on the night, a career high. Green landed jab after jab after jab on Haqparast, bloodying his face early and never taking his foot off the pedal.

It was Green’s second win in a row.

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