UFC 271 LIVE: Adesanya vs Whittaker stream, fight card, latest updates and results tonight
The middleweight title was on the line in the main event, as rivals took part in a long-awaited rematch
Nearly two-and-a-half years after they first clashed in the Octagon, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will go head-to-head for the UFC middleweight title again this evening.
In October 2019, Adesanya’s meteoric rise through the 185lbs division culminated in the then-interim champion’s victory over Whittaker in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, as the biggest crowd in UFC history watched their home fighter get knocked out in the second round to surrender his belt. For Whittaker, the pressure of a seismic fight against his antagonistic foe in front of more than 57,000 fans – as well as the Australia vs New Zealand narrative – proved too much, and the defending champion was unusually reckless as he was outfought by Nigerian-born Adesanya.
Whittaker has fought and won three times since then, navigating a tough route back to Adesanya, who has competed four times since beating the “Reaper”. While Whittaker recorded impressive wins against Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum, there were three successful title defences for Adesanya – against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori – though he suffered a first professional loss in unsuccessfully challenging for the light heavyweight belt last year. Finally, Adesanya and Whittaker rematch at UFC 271 in Houston, Texas tonight, where Derrick Lewis competes in front of a home crowd in his co-main event against fellow heavyweight Tai Tuivasa.
There is also a meeting between middleweight contenders Cannonier and Derek Brunson, with the winner of that contest potentially next for the victor of the main event.
Re-live all the action from UFC 271, below.
UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker
Cherant vs Ulberg – Round 1
There’s an early break in the action for a low blog from Ulberg.
The action resumes and Cherant catches his opponent with a winging left hook as Ulberg backs up!
Ulberg gets double-underhooks against the cage then takes down Cherant! But Cherant is quickly back to his feet – great work.
He’s soon floored with a well-timed leg kick, but again jumps back to his feet.
He floors Ulberg late in the round with a short left straight! It appeared to be the force of the shot that dropped Ulberg, rather than the shot really dazing Adesanya’s teammate, but it’s a big moment regardless.
UFC 271
Adesanya’s teammate Blood Diamond, whom the middleweight champion had talked up all week, was submitted in the first round of this evening’s first bout.
Adesanya will hope his other teammate Carlos Ulberg fares better in this light heavyweight clash with Fabio Cherant.
UFC 271
And here’s what the main card will then look like:
Israel Adesanya (C) vs Robert Whittaker 2 (middleweight)
Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa (heavyweight)
Derek Brunson vs Jared Cannonier (middleweight)
Alexander Hernandez vs Renato Moicano (lightweight)
Bobby Green vs. Nasrat Haqparast (lightweight)
UFC 271
We’ll now have round-by-round updates of the prelim fights:
Andrei Arlovski vs Jared Vanderaa (heavyweight)
Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill (women’s flyweight)
Kyler Phillips vs Marcelo Rojo (bantamweight)
Fabio Cherant vs Carlos Ulberg (light heavyweight)
UFC 271
Here are the early prelim results:
Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond via submission first-round submission (rear naked choke, 4:38)
Maxim Grishin def. William Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov via second-round submission (rear naked choke, 3:24)
Jacob Malkoun def. AJ Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ronnie Lawrence def. Mana Martinez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
UFC 271
From the start time for tonight’s main card, to details on how to watch, and all the fights taking place this evening... we have you covered:
UFC 271 live stream: How to watch Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker tonight
All you need to know about the main event and undercard
UFC 271
On the topic of Adesanya and Whittaker’s first fight, here’s our report from that main event back in October 2019:
The UFC has a new face, and it is distinctly lacking ginger hair and an Irish brogue.
In Marvel Stadium, Melbourne on Sunday, the remarkably marketable and talented Israel Adesanya dethroned Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker in his outback yard to claim the UFC middleweight championship and assert himself as the man Dana White’s promotion needs to get behind.
The UFC 243 main event marked Whittaker’s (20-5) third attempt at a title defence in his native Australia, and the third time was not to be the charm for ‘The Reaper’.
Full report here:
Adesanya finishes Whittaker at UFC 243 to claim middleweight crown in Melbourne
Interim champion unified the belts in Melbourne to become the second African titleholder in the MMA promotion’s history
UFC 271
Robert Whittaker was surprisingly cognizant as he addressed his home crowd in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, moments after being knocked out for the second time in one night.
In the main event of UFC 243, Whittaker surrendered his middleweight title to rival Israel Adesanya, knocked down at the end of the first round then finished in the second as 57,000 fans watched on – the most at any event in UFC history.
Bloodied, bruised and heartbroken, Whittaker spoke for just 20 seconds, yet – in hindsight – the few sentences he uttered left a lot to unpack.
“Hell, you know, I’m only 28,” the Australian said. “I’ll see him in a fight or two, yeah? Thanks to everybody who came out today, to my family and coaches. Everybody did great getting me here, honestly this is the best I’ve ever felt. I didn’t get the W today, but I’m not going anywhere.”
Not all of what Whittaker said seems sincere with hindsight, but we unpack that in the article below as we preview tonight’s massive main event:
Robert Whittaker must resist revenge mission in Israel Adesanya rematch
The Australian has moved past the mental hurdles that played a vital role in his title loss to Adesanya
UFC 271
One last piece from our exclusive chat with Adesanya...
The middleweight champion opened up on how his coach Eugene Bareman ‘trolls’ fans – especially Whittaker’s supporters.
“He literally goes in the gym group chat... Someone will send him a screenshot of a comment and he’ll go like: ‘Watch this.’ Then he’ll go on some interview and start to troll the fans because he enjoys it, and it’s fun for us, the anarchy.”
More here:
‘He loves watching them squirm’: Israel Adesanya admits coach ‘trolls’ UFC fans
Bareman has long dismissed Robert Whittaker’s worthiness as a challenger to Adesanya, much to the annoyance of the ex-champion’s supporters
UFC 271
Adesanya has antagonised Whittaker at every opportunity – both before their first fight and since beating the Australian.
So, it was interesting to hear Adesanya be so complimentary towards his rival this month in an exclusive interview with The Independent, when the champion was asked about Whittaker’s honesty around mental health.
“Good on him for bringing that to the forefront. It’s the first step, I guess, in getting over it or learning how to deal with it and manage it.”
More here:
Israel Adesanya praises Robert Whittaker for being ‘vulnerable’ about mental health
Adesanya has mocked his old foe in recent years but offered empathy ahead of their rematch this month
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