Expat Whanganui fighter Israel Adesanya (13-0) continued his rapid rise up the ranks of the UFC with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Hawaii's Brad Tavares (17-5) in the main event of the The Ultimate Fighter 27 finale show in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, NZ time.
Adesanya took theUFC veteran apart over five rounds, snapping his four fight winning streak, and likely moving himself up the rankings as Tavares was 8th in the middleweight division.
He landed a series of stinging kicks and jabs, out-striking his opponent 119-40.
Adesanya hoped his latest performance justified the hype.
"All the punters, all the experts, said 'Is it too soon? He's only had two fights in the UFC'.
