Kiwi Israel Adesanya has prevailed in his middleweight title rematch against Robert Whittaker, earning a unanimous decision victory at UFC 271 in Houston on Sunday (NZ time).
As he promised all week, Whittaker delivered a much more patient and composed performance compared to his reckless efforts in their first fight in 2019, when Adesanya scored a searing second-round KO to clinch the belt.
But it still wasn't enough against 'The Last Stylebender', who controlled distance expertly, presented a much more varied, efficient attack, and had the NZ-born Aussie feasting on a steady diet of leg kicks on his way to having his hand raised.
The judges awarded scorecards of 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in Adesanya's favour to hand him his 11th straight win at middleweight - defending his belt for a fourth time and continuing to cement a legacy second only to Brazilian great Anderson Silva.
"I knew he was gonna bring everything, because last time I took everything away from him," Adesanya said in his post-fight interview.
"He had nothing to lose. Like I said, I'm the champ. You want it, come get it."
While many of the rounds were closely contested, Adesanya was consistently a split-second quicker than his rival, beating him to the counter, dictating the pace of the contest and stifling any brief momentum Whittaker earned through his grappling with instant responses on the feet.
Whittaker was vocal with his intentions to attempt to imitate the takedown-heavy approach used by Jan Blachowicz to hand Adesanya his only UFC defeat early last year in his one-off tilt at the light heavyweight belt.
He had success taking the City Kickboxing product to the mat relatively frequently but wasn't able to hold Adesanya down long enough to make them count in the judges' eyes, as his opponent was typically swiftly back upright.
"I knew he was going to try and copy Jan [Blachowicz’s] homework," Adesanya said about Whittaker's tactics. "But I’m the big dog in this yard so he couldn't take me down at all."
In the opening round, Adesanya signaled his intent by going quickly to his arsenal of leg kicks, before sitting Whittaker down with a straight left to score the bout's only knockdown and its most decisive round.
Whittaker appeared to find his rhythm in the second, using his left jab effectively and completing his first takedown of the contest. Adesanya responded by ramping up his offensive on Whittaker's legs.
There was more takedown success for Whittaker in the third but not enough to override the effectiveness of Adesanya's stand-up assault, as the champion used his relentless series of feints to prise open opportunities to rack up points.
The championship rounds saw more grapple-heavy offence from the challenger, who at one stage managed to briefly take Adesanya's back.
But again, a choke never looked likely, as Adesanya - as was the pattern of the bout - defended resolutely and responded aggressively with his kicks.
The final round was Whittaker's most comprehensive of the fight, although the finish he seemed to need to render the judges scorecards irrelevant never came to fruition.
"I'm gutted," the crestfallen Whittaker said afterwards. "I thought I did enough.
"I was surprised with the decision. It is what it is. I'm not going to take anything away from him. He’s the champ. He beat me for the second time.
"We're the two best in the world, I know this, he knows this. We know this."
Adesanya's victory ensures the City Kickboxing team leaves Houston with two wins and a loss, after Carlos Ulberg bounced back to beat Fabio Cherant and Blood Diamond fell short in his promotional debut on the event's undercard.
It also rounds out a landmark week for Adesanya, after he inked a lucrative new multi-fight deal with the UFC to make him one of the highest-paid athletes in the history of the sport.
As for what awaits the champion next, you likely need look no further than Sunday's main card, with Jared Cannonier slaying Derek Brunson with a second-round TKO to lift his name to the front of the queue of middleweight contenders.
The American's display caught Adesanya's eye and he teased a potential showdown in the middle of the year.
"I know June doesn’t have a pay-per-view yet, but I'm the big dog in the yard now and I know the other dog Jared Cannonier just did some work tonight," Adesanya said.
"So yeah, I’m p**sing in this cage next time in June. Watch me."
In the co-main event, Australian cult hero Tai Tuivasa felled hometown hero Derrick Lewis with a punishing elbow to earn the biggest win of his career to date and ensure a celebratory evening filled with trademark 'shooeys'.
