Israel Adesanya is adamant the next time he enters the octagon will be for the UFC middleweight title after comfortably out-pointing Brazilian legend Anderson Silva in Melbourne.
Elevated to the main event at UFC 234 after champion Robert Whittaker was forced to withdraw from his defence against Kelvin Gastelum with a severe abdominal injury, Adesanya delivered a Fight of the Night performance to extend his unbeaten record to 16-0 (5-0 in the UFC).
The Nigerian-born Kiwi never looked in any serious danger against Silva, prevailing in a tactical battle to win 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 on the judges' scorecards.
ANDY BROWNBILL/AP
Israel Adesanya is now 5-0 in the UFC after beating Anderson Silva.
The match-up was originally meant to be for the number one contender position. However, Whittaker's injury has muddied the middleweight picture for the time being.
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There was no confusion for Adesanya, though.
QUINN ROONEY/GETTY IMAGES
Israel Adesanya lands a left hand on Anderson Silva.
"I'm the number one contender, I'm the guy fighting for the belt," 'The Last Stylebender' said in his post-fight press conference. "I don't care, Kelvin or Rob, whoever it is, I'm fighting for the belt.
"I did my job, I showed up to work."
Adesanya, and Gastelum for that matter, will likely have to wait until Whittaker's status becomes clearer before they figure out their next move.
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Whittaker required emergency surgery on the eve of the fight due to a perforated hernia that UFC president Dana White said could have been fatal if he fought on Sunday.
The surgery went well and White is hopeful the New Zealand-born Australian will be able to resume training in four to six weeks.
But he was reluctant to confirm Gastelum remained as the No 1 contender until more details emerge.
"The scary part is is that if he took a shot to the stomach he could have died. He could've ruptured the colon, you become septic and that's not good," White said.
"We have to see how this thing plays out with the champ and see how long he's going to be out and we'll go from there."
Adesanya's victory over Silva was not as explosive as many had hoped but White slammed critics who had written off the 43-year-old former champion before the fight.
Anderson is one crafty, crafty Martial Artist.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 10, 2019
You only develop these methods through years of hard fought experience.
Phenomenal performance.
The crafty veteran. Big respect always.
It would be an honor!
After a slow first round, Silva surprised with his ability to keep up with Adesanya in the second. The Kiwi then showed his class in the third, battering Silva's legs while landing a total of 65 significant strikes to 31.
With so many similarities in style, the result was seen as a torch-passing moment between the two fighters.
And Adesanya relished sharing the stage with his idol.
"He's still got it, make no mistake," he said. "People were saying 'are you going to go easy on 'The Spider?" I was going in there hopefully to take him out but I'm not stupid.
"I'm not like everyone else he's fought where he beckons them on and they fall into the spider's web."
The 29-year-old's victory made it three from three for Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, with teammates Shane Young and Kai Kara-France also coming away with decision wins.
That made the day all the more sweeter for Adesanya.
"We were in the trenches together, us three, working hard for so long. So the fact that we all got a win, it's history. And it puts NZ MMA, Australasia MMA on the map."
Meanwhile, White signalled his intention to bring the UFC back to New Zealand for a third time, despite not giving a timeframe.
New Zealand last hosted a UFC event in June, 2017.
"Well look at Israel now,"he said. "The answer to that question is yes.
"This part of the world has blown up so much. Not only are there tons of guys fighting, there are tons of talented people here, who are going to climb up into the ranks and possibly become world champions some day."
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