Israel Adesanya, a Nigerian-New Zealander mixed martial artist, has risen to No. 2 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings after defeating Robert Whittaker.
At UFC 271 over the weekend, ‘Stylebender’ put on a striking masterclass to earn a unanimous decision against his opponent.
He leapfrogs featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who drops to third but might reclaim the spot if he defeats Chan Sung Jung on April 9.
The welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, remains in first place, but a match between him and Adesanya is improbable because to Usman’s Nigerian patriotism.
Ali Abdelaziz, Usman’s manager, has talked up the possibility of them fighting, but both men, who are good friends, have distanced themselves from the fight.
Adesanya is undefeated at middleweight, with his only loss coming when he switched to light-heavyweight to fight then-champion Jan Blachowicz.
THE MEN’S POUND FOR POUND LIST IN THE UFC IS BELOW:1. Kamaru Usman
Alexander Volkanovski -14. 2. Israel Adesanya +13.
Dustin Poirier9. Petr Yan10. Glover Teixeira11. Stipe Miocic -112. Deiveson Figueiredo13. Brandon Moreno14. Robert Whittaker15. Jan Blachowicz
