UFC 271 Re-Watch: Adesanya vs. Whittaker II
Saturday's middleweight title fight was a close, competitive affair. Here's what I gleaned from watching it back on Sunday morning.
I love watching fights back.
No matter how many times I’ve seen a particular fight, there is always something new I notice or pick up, especially when I’m doing a minute-by-minute, round-by-round assessment like this with the sound off and no distractions.
Scoring fights is difficult and becomes more challenging when you add in the commentary and second screens and watching with friends or family or on press row, so sitting down on Sunday, muting the broadcast, and setting everything else aside feels like the best way to really take in the action and give my best interpretation of the action and how I would score the fight.
Saturday’s main event between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker was a close, competitive bout, while also being a fight where I thought only two possible scores made sense, the two scores we got at the end of the contest: 48-47 Adesanya and 49-46 Adesanya.
The scorecards from the fight are below, for reference.
Normally with these pieces, I tend to focus on the rounds where the judges disagreed, but instead, I’ve decided to re-watch the whole thing with notes for each minute of every round because I think that will best illustrate how close and competitive this fight was, and how the margin wasn't all that great, yet Adesanya’s superiority was clear.
Let’s get into it.
Round 1
5:00-4:00: lots of feinting and pawing without either man landing anything of value, but you see right away that Adesanya’s length and distance management are going to be a persistent problem for Whittaker and anyone else going forward. He just moves so well, is so fluid with his stance switches and subtle fakes that it’s extremely difficult to get a read on what he’s going to do and how to best attack him.
4:00-3:00: Adesanya lands an inside low kick early, Whittaker partially lands an oblique kick midway through the minute, but again, not a lot of anything thrown or landed from either side. It really is fascinating to watch Adesanya like this though because his movements dictate everything and his ability to work in either direction, from either stance really is a massive factor that doesn’t get talked about enough beyond hardcore conversations and technical breakdowns.
3:00-2:00: Adesanya lands one to the inside and two to the outside of Whittaker’s lead leg and you can start to see the redness setting in. Whittaker rushes forward, but doesn’t find a home for anything before doubling up on the jab soon after and touching Adesanya.
2:00-1:00: inside low kick for Whittaker, followed by Adesanya landing a pristine left down the pipe that sits the challenger down momentarily. Whittaker gets up and drives at a naked takedown attempt that Adesanya sees coming from a mile away, sprawling quickly and avoiding it with ease. The rest of the round is just more feinting, directional changes, and shots that either glance or don’t land at all.
1:00-0:00: another hard outside kick lands for Adesanya, followed by a kick that turns into a knee and catches Whittaker on the jaw. Whittaker shoots again with no setup and Adesanya defends it easily. Adesanya throws another outside low kick and Whittaker gets his leg up and out of the way, showing they’re clearly adding up and having an impact, before the champion partially lands with a left kick to the body.
Analysis: obviously the knockdown is the biggest moment of the round, but Adesanya’s range management is the piece that really sticks out to me. The takedown attempts were poor, but he dealt with them seamlessly nonetheless, and he just does an amazing job corralling Whittaker for much of round. As I said earlier, his ability to work in all directions, from both stances, as either the aggressor or a counter fighter is truly remarkable.
Score: 10-9 Adesanya — you simply cannot score it any other way
Round 2
5:00-4:00: outside low kick to start for Adesanya as he looks to stay technical, sliding out of the way of Whittaker’s counters, but the challenger is more aggressive here. He’s doubling up on the jab and offering more, and while he doesn’t land initially, he starts having a little more success making this grimy later in the opening minute. Adesanya’s jab finds a home a couple times, as does a hook in a quick skirmish between the two, but Whittaker lands as well.
4:00-3:00: Adesanya hits a retreating uppercut midway through the minute that is so quick and subtle that it’s easy to miss, but it stops Whittaker in his tracks and lifts his feet off the ground for a split seconds; it’s such a brilliant shot. Whittaker connects with an intercepting left hand as Adesanya presses forward (the one that gets replayed after the round) that is one of his best shots of the fight so far.
3:00-2:00: inside kick to the thigh lands for Adesanya and Whittaker changes levels, driving the champion across the cage and to the ground, landing a couple short punches as Adesanya gets his back to the fence and looks to stand. Adesanya gets to his feet, but Whittaker maintains a body lock, with the two pummelling and battling for position in the clinch.
2:00-1:00: two short lefts from Adesanya and he finally breaks into space. Inside to the calf, high to the head, but blocked, left kick to the body, but blocked for Adesanya as he’s back stalking Whittaker. Jab for the champion, outside low kick for the challenger.
1:00-0:00: they trade jabs and Adesanya lands again to the outside of Whittaker’s lead leg. He picks up the leg, but takes a little of the kick still before trying to clinch Adesanya up high to no avail. Inside low kick misses, but you can see Whittaker is super-aware that they’re coming and not all that interested in taking more of them.
Analysis: this is a much closer round since there was no knockdown (obvi), but still a round for Adesanya. The cumulative low kicks have the most immediate and clear impact, while he landed the best individual shot of the round too with the retreating uppercut. Now, I can see it clearly because I have a great television angle and the benefit of rewinding the tape, so it’s one of those blows where you could easily miss it depending on your line of sight.
The takedown was an interesting wrinkle to add into the round for Whittaker and something he definitely needed, but he didn’t do much with it, so it doesn't really rate. I also think the fact that all three replays feature key moments for Whittaker — the intercepting left, the level-change into the takedown, a left that lands as they both throw — impacts how people watching at home score the round as the conversation is about Whittaker’s success, highlights his success, but doesn’t look at the totality of the round.
Mike Beltran gave Whittaker this round, and I can see how he got there, but I tend to disagree. The low kicks from Adesanya were actually more impactful than the lefts that Whittaker landed, and he didn’t do anything with the takedown, so it’s another round for the champ for me,.
Score: 10-9 Adesanya, 20-18 Adesanya
Round 3
5:00-4:00: there are like four legitimate strikes thrown in this minute and none of them land with much on them. The first 30 seconds are just movement and feints, Whittaker doubles up on the jab, Adesanya offers a kick to the body that grazes or misses (bad angle, not sure), and that’s really about it.
4:00-3:00: left for Whittaker as Adesanya is throwing a left body kick. Neither really land, but Adesanya is pushed backwards off balance, allowing Whittaker to push forward with double lefts that just kind of touch the champion. High kick from Adesanya is blocked. Outside to the thigh for Adesanya. Reaching left for Whittaker, who continues to have his most success when he’s mucking things up and making Adesanya back up uncomfortably.
3:00-2:00: jab for the champion is true. Low to the outside of the calf for Adesanya, and Whittaker reacts by rushing forward for a takedown, but he’s stuffed. Knee to the head for Adesanya from a front headlock position. High kick from Adesanya is partially blocked and Whittaker uses it to grab a high crotch and drive the champion to the canvas.
2:00-1:00: Adesanya scrambles, to his feet, giving Whittaker his back, but the challenger only gets one hook in. Whittaker on a waist lock as Adesanya works to the fence before breaking Whittaker’s grip with a kimura trap. Left for Whittaker once they’re back in space.
1:00-0:00: pawing double jab from the challenger, followed soon after by a hard outside kick from the champion, with a good left hand behind it. Check hook from Adesanya as Whittaker pushed forward with the double jab. Another double jab for Whittaker answered by a right hook from Adesanya that appears to hit the shoulder. Body kick from Adesanya is partially blocked just before the horn.
Analysis: this is another one of those rounds where the differences between the two aren’t great and I could see how you score it for Whittaker. I don’t, but catching the kick and driving Adesanya to the canvas looks good, is a lasting memory, and most of what the champion landed were subtle shots that do damage, had impact, but don’t stand out — the continued outside kicks, the little knee to the head after stuffing the takedown.
Once again, Whittaker did zero with the takedown, which means even if you give it a little weight for the force with which he put Adesanya on the deck, it’s not something that should carry much weight at all because the champion worked back to his feet quickly and ultimately broke free into space without taking any damage.
Score: 10-9 Adesanya, 30-27 Adesanya
Round 4
5:00-4:00: reaching left from Whittaker is the only thing that lands in the first 30 seconds, but things pick up in the final 10-15 seconds, with Adesanya landing another good outside low kick and a kick to the body, before Whittaker counters with another overhand left.
4:00-3:00: tremendous timing on a level change from Whittaker as he drops down and takes Adesanya down in space. Adesanya gives up his back and Whittaker jumps on for the ride, sinking in both hooks. Adesanya carries him to the fence, Whittaker tries to fish for the neck or the chin, but Adesanya goes “baseball bat” and schluffs him off. Real interesting sequence. Jab lands for Adesanya at the end of the minute.
3:00-2:00: right hand to the body for Whittaker as Adesanya looks for a high kick. Double jab connects for Whittaker while Adesanya misses with a right. Inside low kick for Adesanya rates. Double jab again for Whittaker.
2:00-1:00: outside low kick for Whittaker; not a ton on it, but it connects. Adesanya lands one of his own with a little more impact, but Whittaker sticks a jab right after. Low kick outside again for Adesanya. Right hook catches the shoulder for Adesanya. Duelling jabs. Short little right uppercut in tight for Whittaker coming out of a very brief tie up as they put the round-by-round significant strikes tallies up.
1:00-0:00: reaching left for Whittaker. He paws forward with the double jab again, but I can’t tell if it lands because Adesanya’s back is to the camera. Jab for the champion and the challenger ties him up, forcing him into the fence. Knee in tight for Whittaker. Short right to the midsection for Whittaker, and Adesanya breaks free into space. Right hand for Whittaker intercepts an Adesanya kick attempt.
Analysis: this was Whittaker’s best round so far, both in terms of landing his own strikes, having some success in the grappling department, and making Adesanya miss. Nothing he landed was particularly impactful, but he landed more and had a couple moments where he timed things up nicely to connect just as Adesanya was pulling the trigger.
Score: 10-9 Whittaker, 39-37 Adesanya
Round 5
5:00-4:00: Whittaker really working off the double jab, landing solid with it once, but it really does a nice job of keeping Adesanya from being able to get everything on his shots. Jab and a low outside kick for Adesanya, left hand for Whittaker. The challenger is moving well on the outside and for the first time in the fight, really, he’s forcing Adesanya to follow him.
4:00-3:00: glancing kick for Adesanya, twice, and he just misses with a front kick to the chin. Good reaching left from Whittaker. Outside kick for Whittaker, inside kick for Adesanya. Whittaker in on a single, Adesanya defends well.
3:00-2:00: Lunging right for Whittaker and there is a brief stoppage for an eye poke. Whittaker times another level change and drives forward, collecting Adesanya and getting him to the canvas. The champion scurries to his feet immediate, with Whittaker on a waist lock, and Adesanya looks for the switch.
2:00-1:00: Adesanya looks to peel the hands, and Whittaker changes his grip around the waist. Adesanya breaks the grip and attacks the kimura trap again, but Whittaker changes to a high crotch, elevating Adesanya’s left leg. The champion lands a jumping right knee to the chest, and Whittaker connects with a good right as he lets go of the takedown attempt, and the two break into space. Jab for Adesanya, double jab for Whittaker. Inside and then outside for Adesanya, and he knocks Whittaker off balance with the second one. Whittaker again changes levels looking for a takedown right at the end of the minute.
1:00-0:00: Whittaker drives Adesanya backwards into the fence and lands a right hand to the face as they get there. Body lock for Whittaker, who lands a foot stomp and draws an “Ow!” from Adesanya. Knees to the inner thigh from Whittaker. The challenger tries to twist the champion to the mat, but Adesanya posts and shows great balance and body control. Whittaker circles him back to the fence. Short little shots to the head from Adesanya, knees to the thigh from Whittaker, and we’re done.
Analysis: another round for the challenger, who mixed it up well and was able to control Adesanya for stretches in the clinch. He landed a couple clean strikes in space, but never seems to get enough on them to really alter the course of the fight, but this was a clear round for Whittaker.
Score: 10-9 Whittaker, 48-47 Adesanya
Final Thoughts
I can see how Whittaker feels he did enough to win the fight — he won two rounds on two cards, and got a third from another judge, and fought the exact type of fight he needed to in order to have a chance to beat Adesanya, but it wasn’t enough.
What really stands out to me watching it back is how difficult it is for Whittaker to land with real force because Adesanya fades back so well and has such a commanding reach advantage, not to mention outstanding distance management overall. When he does land, it’s a good shot that doesn’t really alter what Adesanya is doing all that much — he resets, but doesn’t really have to retreat — and when you can’t put your opponent in a defensive mode for more than a fraction of a second here and there, it’s hard to win.
Adesanya’s defensive wrestling and get-ups were excellent — even when he got taken down, he popped right back to his feet, and he showed zero panic when Whittaker jumped on his back.
It’s going to be really hard for anyone to unseat Adesanya, folks.
One last thing: I’m actually having a real hard time reconciling Mike Beltran’s 49-46 for Adesanya where the only round he gave Whittaker was the second, not because I can’t see how he got there, but because I thought the fifth was clearly Whittaker’s and his two fellow judges — Jacob Montalvo and Doug Crosby — both thought he won the fourth as well, just as I did.
While I’m glad we didn’t have a Texas Split Decision in the main event, that’s just a weird card for me since watching it live, I didn’t think there were any rounds that were particularly challenging to score.
Let me know what you think in the comments or hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter.