Tag: UFC 243

UFC 248 free fight: Israel Adesanya captures undisputed middleweight crown

Ahead of his return at UFC 248, relive Israel Adesanya’s title-winning knockout of Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] always knew his moment would come, and when it did, he’d rise to the occasion.

That moment came at UFC 243 when the undefeated Kiwi, already the interim middleweight champion, faced UFC 185-pound champ [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] for the unified, undisputed middleweight crown at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia in October 2019.

Whittaker came out aggressively at the start of the fight as he looked to knock the super-calm former kickboxer out of his stride in the early exchanges. But as the round progressed Adesanya kept his cool and started to time the Australian’s attacks.

By the end of the opening round, Adesanya had taken charge, and put an exclamation point on proceedings with a perfectly-timed right-hand counter that dropped the defending champion in the final second of the round.

Adesanya was in complete control when the bout resumed for Round 2 and, although Whittaker persisted with his “walk forward, throw heavy” approach, Adesanya dipped and swerved his way out of range, then punished the Aussie with slick, sharp counters.

Eventually, those counter shots proved decisive as Adesanya lit up Whittaker with a brilliant right-left combination that sent the champion crashing to the canvas for a show-stealing, title-winning knockout.

Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) returns to action on Saturday in the main event of UFC 248 in Las Vegas, when he takes on dangerous Cuban challenger Yoel Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC). Ahead of that clash, relive the brilliance of “The Last Stylebender” in his win over Whittaker in the video above.

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Khalid Taha accepts one-year USADA suspension for banned substance

The UFC bantamweight provided an in-competition urine sample, which tested positive.

UFC bantamweight [autotag]Khalid Taha[/autotag] has accepted a one-year suspension from USADA, after he tested positive for a banned substance.

The positive test stems from an in-competition urine sample collected on Oct. 6, the date of Taha’s (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) most recent fight.

At UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia, Taha picked up his second promotional victory when he submitted Bruno Silva by third-round arm triangle choke. He missed weight by one pound for the fight, though, and forfeited 20 percent of his purse.

The news of Taha’s failed test was released by USADA in a press release Monday.

The banned substance found in Taha’s system, furosemide, is a diarrhetic clinically used for curing congestive heart failure, liver disease, and other related illnesses.

The USADA press release stated:

“Furosemide is a Specified Substance in the class of Diuretics and Masking Agents and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and the UFC Prohibited List… Taha’s one-year period of ineligibility began on October 6, 2019, the date his positive sample was collected. Under the rules, any decision concerning competition results is handled by the relevant Commissions and UFC.”

Prior to UFC 243, Taha had split his promotional outings. The 27-year-old German fighter debuted in his home country at UFC Fight Night 134 in July 2018, losing an unanimous decision to Nad Narimani.

His sophomore fight with the promotion came at UFC 236 in April, when Narimani knocked out highly-touted prospect Boston Salmon just 25 seconds into the first round.

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