Israel Adesanya beats Anderson Silva in three-round striking contest
With Robert Whittaker forced to withdraw from his UFC middleweight title defence against Kelvin Gastelum, the three-round affair between Israel Adesanya and Anderson Silva was bumped up to be UFC 234’s main event.
As expected, the fight didn’t disappoint. Though, it’s somewhat cruel this tense, technical striking war between the UFC middleweight division’s old and new guard was only a three-round fight.
“The Last Stylebender” looked composed and largely out-struck Silva throughout the fight. From pounding leg kicks, to crisp boxing, Adesanya looked to have former UFC middleweight champion Silva’s number early, wobbling his foe with a short right hand in the first round.
But Silva rallied for the second stanza, landing a number of punching combinations in between whiffing on some spinning kicks to keep Adesanya at bay.
Adesanya resumed control of the fight’s pace in the third and rightly won the unanimous decision.
In defeat, Silva still looked good despite the 43-year-old’s long layoff. After the bout, Silva said he is not ready to hang up the gloves just yet and wants to compete in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, before retirement.
Lando Vannata submits Marcos Mariano in UFC 234 co-main event
Lando Vannata ended his two-and-a-half year wait to win inside the Octagon on Saturday night, submitting Brazil’s Marcos Mariano in the first round.
The rangy Mariano sought to strike with Vannata, but the latter got the best of those exchanges despite being the significantly smaller man in the cage.
As the first round wore on, Vannata secured a takedown from the clinch, before delivering some crushing ground and pound.
From mount, Vannata snatched a kimura which forced Mariano to tap with just seconds left in the round.
A triumphant return to form for the Jackson-Winklejohn product.
UFC 234: Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva full results
Middleweight: Israel Adesanya def. Anderson Silva by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Lando Vannata def. Marcos Mariano by submission (kimura) at 4:55 of round one.
Bantamweight: Ricky Simon def. Rani Yahya by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Women’s Flyweight: Montana De La Rosa def. Nadia Kassem by verbal submission (armbar) at 2:37 of round two.
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute def. Sam Alvey by TKO (punches) at 2:49 of round one.
Lightweight: Devonte Smith def. Dong Hyun Ma by TKO (punches) at 3:49 of round one.
Featherweight: Shane Young def. Austin Arnett by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Flyweight: Kai Kara-France def. Raulian Paiva by split decision after three rounds.
Bantamweight: Kyung Ho Kang def. Teruto Ishihara by technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:59 of round one.
Lightweight: Jalin Turner def. Callan Potter by KO (punches) at 0:53 of round one.
Bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez def. Wuliji Buren by unanimous decision after three rounds.
