Adesanya’s walk in garden
The UFC better make some room at the top of the middleweight division because Israel Adesanya has well and truly arrived.
The Nigerian-born Kiwi passed the biggest test of his career with flying colours, knocking out sixth-ranked American Derek Brunson in the first round of UFC 230 at Madison Square Garde,n New York.
Adesanya’s grappling defence was too good for the elite-level wrestler, blocking all seven takedown attempts before he caught Brunson shooting in with a perfectly-timed right knee.
It was then only a matter of time before he extended his perfect MMA record to 15-0, dropping Brunson twice before the referee stepped in with nine seconds to go in the first round.
‘‘That was about a B-minus. You saw me fight Brad [Tavares] and he was light work but this was a walk in the park. No, this was a walk in the garden . . . Madison baby.’’ It was his fourth-straight victory since making his UFC debut in February and should see him go from ninth in the rankings into the top five.
‘The Last Stylebender’ has spoken of his desire to set up a mouth-watering title showdown against New Zealand-born Australia Robert Whittaker, who is due to defend his belt against Kelvin Gastelum early next year. He may still be one more win away from a title shot but there is no doubt he has put himself in contention.
‘‘I’m going to sit back and watch the rest of the fights in the middleweight tournament and then I’ll plot, slowly,’’ he said.
Adesanya, arguably the best striker in the division, has faced constant questions about his grappling ability but this performance will go some way towards silencing his critics.