Israel Adesanya: two-time UFC middleweight champion | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

ISRAEL ADESANYA is the striker who made middleweight his own. He won the title in front of 57,127 people in Melbourne, defended it five times and fought a rivalry with Alex Pereira that started in kickboxing.

He is on a hard run now, four losses in a row, and says he will keep going.

Early life

He was born on 22 July 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria. His parents brought the children to New Zealand for a good education, and he grew up in Rotorua. He was bullied as a boy, which led him to martial arts, and watching the Muay Thai film Ong-Bak made him decide to become a fighter. “I knew what I wanted out of this life,” he told 66 Magazine.

Getting started

He built his name in kickboxing, with about 75 wins according to UFC.com, and also boxed. He lost twice to Alex Pereira in kickboxing. His professional MMA debut came on 24 March 2012 at Supremacy FC 9 in Auckland, a first-round TKO of James Griffiths. He fought in New Zealand, China and Australia, and in 2017 he beat Melvin Guillard at AFC 20 and Stuart Dare at HFS 12. He trained at City Kickboxing in Auckland under head coach Eugene Bareman.

Career chapters

1. 2012Professional MMA debut in Auckland
2. 2018UFC debut in Perth
3. 2019Beats Anderson Silva, then Kelvin Gastelum for the interim title
4. 2019Knocks out Robert Whittaker in Melbourne to unify the title
5. 2020 to 2022Five title defences
6. 2022Loses the title to Alex Pereira
7. 2023Knocks out Pereira to win it back, then loses it to Sean Strickland, Who’s Who number 30
8. 2026Leaves City Kickboxing

Into the UFC 2018 to 2019

He made his UFC debut at UFC 221 in Perth on 11 February 2018 with a second-round TKO of Rob Wilkinson. Wins over Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson followed that year. On 10 February 2019 at UFC 234 in Melbourne he beat Anderson Silva, Who’s Who number 13 on a decision, and cageside microphones picked up Silva telling him he was passing him the baton. On 13 April 2019 at UFC 236 in Atlanta he beat Kelvin Gastelum over five rounds for the interim title. Both men were dropped, MMA Junkie and MMA Fighting named it their Fight of the Year, and the UFC has since put it in the Hall of Fame Fight Wing.

Champion 2019 to 2022

On 6 October 2019 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne he knocked out Robert Whittaker in the second round to unify the title, in front of a UFC-record crowd of 57,127. He defended it against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, Whittaker again and Jared Cannonier. In March 2021 he went up to fight Jan Błachowicz for the light heavyweight title and lost a decision, the first loss of his MMA career.

On 12 November 2022 at Madison Square Garden he met Alex Pereira, who had beaten him twice in kickboxing. ESPN’s live scoring had him ahead three rounds to one, but Pereira stopped him in the fifth.

Back on top, then a hard run 2023 to 2026

On 8 April 2023 at UFC 287 in Miami he knocked Pereira out in the second round to take the title back. “I told you, the hunter is now the hunted,” he said. Five months later in Sydney he lost the title to Sean Strickland, 49-46 on all three cards. Dricus du Plessis submitted him in the fourth round in Perth in August 2024. In 2025 Nassourdine Imavov stopped him in Riyadh, and in March 2026 Joe Pyfer stopped him in Seattle. “I’m just going to keep going and going and going,” he said. In July 2026 he announced he was leaving City Kickboxing, calling it “bittersweet, but it’s the right thing for me.”

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He is a long, rangy striker, 76 inches tall with an 80-inch reach on UFC.com. Sherdog’s 2019 Film Room said he switches comfortably between orthodox and southpaw and reads distance very well. His footwork is his main defence: he rarely backs straight up and takes angles away from the cage. He also uses a boxing-style shoulder roll that suits his low hands. Sherdog said each feint has a purpose and compared his style to Lyoto Machida’s and to Anderson Silva’s. His 24 wins are all by knockout or decision. Robert Whittaker called his counter striking “one of the best I’ve ever seen”.

Teams and gyms

He trained at City Kickboxing in Auckland under head coach Eugene Bareman, his longtime gym, until he announced his exit in July 2026. He said he needed “focused, individual, training”. He hasn’t confirmed his new camp.

Stories people still tell

1. The baton.

   After UFC 234 in 2019, microphones caught Anderson Silva telling him he was passing him the baton.

2. The record crowd.

   UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium drew 57,127 people, beating the previous UFC record of 56,214.

3. The Halberg.

   Named New Zealand’s Sportsman of the Year for 2019, he told the room: “If they win, we win. If I win, you win.”

Legacy

He is a two-time UFC middleweight champion with eight winning UFC title fights, counting the interim bout. His fight with Gastelum is in the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing. He is still fighting.