Israel Adesanya remains the king of the UFC middleweight division. Photo / Getty Images
Christopher Reive looks at the week that was, and the weekend ahead, in combat sports.
With a unanimous decision points victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 last weekend, Israel Adesanya has now successfully defended his place at the top of the middleweight division four times. Personally, I count his first win over Robert Whittaker as a defence – enter with a title, leave with a title – but the official numbers don't so that's what we're running with here.
With four successful defences, Adesanya is now the second most successful UFC middleweight champion in the company's history, behind only Brazilian Anderson Silva (10) who is regarded by many as the greatest of all time to fight under the UFC banner.
It's not unrealistic that Adesanya matches, then surpasses that mark.
At 32-years-old, there are still plenty of chapters to be written in his story; the next likely being a showdown with heavy hitting American Jared Cannonier later in the year. Adesanya is hopeful of fighting twice, if not thrice more this year, and in the current climate at middleweight, it's hard to see him lose his throne to anything but a lucky punch right now. That's not necessarily to say the middleweight division lacks talent, but is more a reflection of just how good Adesanya is.
You don't have to like him, but you have to respect what he's doing.
Since joining the UFC in 2018, he has dominated at middleweight – with 11 wins in the division – and while his eccentric personality and lack of filter has prevented him from getting the respect his sporting ability and achievements deserve from many sports fans in New Zealand, he has exploded worldwide to the point where Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson sent a meal to his hotel room for him to enjoy after weighing in for the Whittaker bout last weekend. Yes, really.
There was a rather interesting contrast between the two other Kiwis fighting at UFC 271 – with Carlos Ulberg making his second walk to the octagon and Blood Diamond his first.
Ulberg was returning from a second-round knockout loss in which he absolutely dominated his opponent for the first round but chased a finish – eager to impress in his debut, got tired and eventually got caught in a heavy exchange. This time around Ulberg gave a much better account of himself. Against Fabio Cherant he was calm, poised, used his range well and picked his opponent apart for what looked like a rather easy victory.
Blood Diamond, on the other hand, was akin to Ulberg's debut in the sense that he didn't show what he could do – falling to a first-round submission. It's something those of us who watch far too much combat sports see from time to time when an athlete gets to the biggest stage in their sport; the bright lights come on and the athlete feels the pressure.
Now, to be fair, Diamond's opponent, Jeremiah Wells, is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and did not let go once Diamond made the mistake of engaging him on the cage, thus taking away any chance Diamond had to show his array of crazy strikes. However, I spoke to City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman earlier in the week and he was flummoxed by the performance. He said regardless of rank, no one has ever been able to control Diamond like that on the ground, and put it down to potentially the moment getting the better of his fighter. He added that he wants to get Diamond another opponent booked rather quickly so he can turn it around and show the world what he's capable of, so stay tuned on that front.
Moving away from the UFC and to the Ray Sefo-fronted Professional Fighters League, Kiwi lightweights B.J. Bland and Michelle Montague have signed on for the PFL Challenger Series in which they could earn a place in the main draw – where the eventual winner gets a US$1 million prize.
Bland (fighting March 19) is a veteran of the regional circuit, having racked up a wealth of experience as is shown in his 16-10 record. He's on a three-fight winning streak, with his last loss being in late 2018 against Australian Callan Potter – whose following fight was in the UFC. Bland had been offered a spot in the main $1million tournament bracket back in 2020, but the PFL was forced to release fighters once the pandemic hit and they weren't able to put on shows that year. Bland was one of the unlucky ones to be cut, and will be eager to prove he belongs there this time around.
Montague (fighting March 5) is fresh to the professional ranks. In fact, her bout in the Challenger Series will be her professional debut. A world champion in the amateur ranks, Montague has elite grappling and has recently done some work with reigning PFL champion Kayla Harrison in the US when she was stuck outside of New Zealand. Her striking is developing nicely, but if she can take her opponent to the mat she is a tough fighter to stop – with plenty of submissions in her arsenal as well as heavy ground and pound. The move to the professional game seems to have come at the right time and this will be a great test of how her current skills will transition.
Boxing fans will no doubt be waiting to see if they will be able to get home should they wish to take a quick jaunt to Australia, with Australian unified world lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. set to defend his titles in Melbourne in June.
It is not yet officially confirmed who Kambosos Jr. will fight, though reports claim Ukrainian former unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko has accepted the bout, putting paid to the hope of a battle for the undisputed crown between Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney, who holds the one world title belt Kambosos Jr. doesn't, the WBC.
Either fight is sure to pack out whatever stadium it is held in.
Another week, another UFC fight night. While there are no Kiwis in action this weekend, Australian Jessica-Rose Clark (11-6) makes her return in the bantamweight division looking to continue on her winning run against Stephanie Egger (6-2).
The card is headlined by a match-up for those who tune in because they want to see chaos unfold, with light heavyweight sluggers Johnny Walker (18-6) and Jamahal Hill (9-1) squaring off. The pair have a combined 20 wins by knockout (of 27 total), so don't expect them to need all five rounds of main event status to settle things.
In the boxing ring, Amir Khan (34-5) and Kell Brook (39-3) will finally square off after a whole heap of jawing at one another over the past few years. Both came up short in their bids to dethrone WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in recent times - both losing by TKO – and in their mid-30s, the end of their careers is probably looming. But rather than let the chance (read: payday) go by, they will step between the ropes to settle whatever scores need settling.
Both events are on Sunday and being broadcast on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now; the UFC via ESPN 2, with the boxing via Sky Arena (pay-per-view).
Gallen and Williams will square off over eight two-minute rounds in Sydney in July.