Former Whanganui fighter Israel Adesanya left his mark with his feet, hands and mouth at the Perth Arena with a second round TKO over tough Sydney fighter Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221 yesterday afternoon, NZ time.
The 28-year-old kickboxer Adesanya (12-0) was making his much hyped UFC debut on the preliminary card against the 25-year-old grappler Wilkinson (11-2), who as expected looked to get a hold of the lanky Nigerian-born striker and press him into the cage.
Adesanya remained calm under pressure, and managed to either block Wilkinson's take down attempts or use his athletic and tall frame to twist out and up – regaining his feet immediately and frustrating Wilkinson, who could not get on top to cause damage.
The Aussie was relentless, desperately trying to hold Adesanya's neck, foot or waist every time the favourite popped back up and looked to get away from him and create some distance for his dangerous strikes.
It appeared an early blow may have broken Wilkinson's nose as the blood flowed freely as he soon began to tire, while Adesanya even showed the skill to do an entire forward roll across the octagon with the Australian clinging to him to create another takedown escape.