Israel Adesanya defeated Anderson Silva in the main event of last night’s UFC 234 fight card from Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Here are a look at the stats from that fight.
Israel Adesanya kept his perfect record intact on Saturday night when he defeated former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 234. It was a spirited and entertaining fight and frankly, it was much better than many fans expected it would be.
The feeling from many fans and pundits was that the younger Adesanya would run over the aging and slowing Silva. That didn’t happen. Sure, Adesanya got the nod from the judges, but Silva showed more than glimpses of his past greatness during the three-round battle. It seemed as if the 43-year-old was rejuvenated by stepping into the cage against his 29-year-old opponent.
UFC 234 took place at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Adesanya’s record now stands at 16-0, while Silva slips to 34-9-0-1 after their “Fight of the Night” bonus winning contest.
Round 1 Striking:
Adesanya was much more active than Silva in the first round. He attempted 44 strikes and landed 20 of those attempts. He did a good job mixing up his targets as well with 31 attempted head strikes, two attempted body strikes and 11 attempted leg strikes.
Silva started a bit slower. The former middleweight champ attempted 21 total strikes and landed just six of those with two head strikes, one to the body and three strikes to Adesanya’s legs.
Both fighters had their lowest landing percentages in the first stanza. Adesanya landed 45 percent of his significant strikes, while Silva landed 28 percent.
UFC President Dana White described the first round as looking like “a kung-fu movie.”
Round 2 Striking:
Adesanya slowed down a tiny bit in the second round, but he still attempted more strikes than his opponent. Adesanya threw 39 total strikes and landed 20 of those attempts. Again, he mixed things up with eight landed strikes to Silva’s head and three to his body. Adesanya was perfect on leg strikes in the second stanza. He attempted nine leg strikes and landed all of those attempts.
Silva landed the same number of strikes as Adesanya in the second round with 20; however he attempted four fewer strikes during the second five minutes of the fight.
