Israel
Adesanya
has not yet encountered an equal at 185 pounds.
“The Last Stylebender” will defend his undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown against
Jared
Cannonier in the
UFC 276 main event on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Adesanya has compiled an 11-1 record inside the Octagon, his only
defeat the result of a failed bid to strike gold in a second weight
class. The
City Kickboxing star last competed at UFC 271, where he took a
five-round unanimous decision from
Robert
Whittaker in their Feb. 12 rematch. Cannonier, meanwhile,
enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories over
Derek
Brunson and
Kelvin
Gastelum. The
MMA Lab rep has pieced together a 5-1 mark since he threw out
his anchor in the middleweight division in 2018.
As Adesanya and Cannonier move ever closer to their confrontation,
a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this
point:
32: Years of age for Adesanya, who was born on July 22, 1989 in
Lagos, Nigeria.
15: Adesanya wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
68% of his career total (22). His list of UFC victims: Whittaker,
Brunson,
Paulo Costa
and
Rob
Wilkinson. Adesanya owns seven other wins by decision.
12: Knockdowns landed by Adesanya as a UFC middleweight, tying him
with
Nate
Marquardt for second on the promotion’s all-time list at 185
pounds. Only
Anderson
Silva (13) has been credited with more.
45: Rounds completed by Adesanya as a professional mixed martial
artist. He has gone the distance in eight different occasions and
carries a 7-1 record in those bouts.
175: Combined victories between the nine men—Whittaker (twice),
Costa, Brunson, Wilkinson, Silva, Gastelum,
Marvin
Vettori (twice),
Yoel Romero
and
Brad
Tavares—Adesanya has beaten since he joined the UFC roster in
2018. They boast a cumulative winning percentage of .761
(175-54-1).
38: Years of age for Cannonier, who was born in Dallas on March 16,
1984.
10: Cannonier victories by knockout or technical knockout,
accounting for 67% of his career total (15). His list of UFC
victims: Brunson, Silva,
Jack
Hermansson,
David
Branch,
Nick
Roehrick and
Cyril Asker.
Cannonier holds two other victories by submission and three more by
decision.
5: Promotions in which Cannonier has plied his mixed martial arts
trade. He has gone 8-5 in the UFC, 4-0 in Alaska Fighting
Championship, 1-0 in AK Entertainment, 1-0 in Alaska Cage Fighting
and 1-0 in Midnight Sun Mayhem.
29: Seconds needed for Cannonier to punch
Matt
Herringshaw into submission at an Alaska Cage Fighting show on
Oct. 28, 2011. Having unfolded more than a decade ago, it remains
his fastest finish to date.
.768: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—Whittaker,
Dominick
Reyes,
Jan
Blachowicz,
Glover
Teixeira and
Shawn
Jordan—who have defeated Cannonier. They sport a combined
record of 116-35.