Israel Adesanya (24-5, 16) was born in Lagos, Nigeria on July 22, 1989. At the age of 22 years on March 24, 2012, he made his professional MMA debut against James Griffiths, winning the fight via 1st-round TKO.
On February 11, 2018, 28-year old Israel Adesanya made his UFC debut on his 12th professional MMA fight at UFC 221 against a 25-year old Rob Wilkinson, winning the fight in the 2nd round via TKO.
He became the UFC middleweight champion on October 6, 2019 at age 30 on his 18th professional MMA fight at UFC 243 after defeating a 28-year old Robert Whittaker via 2nd-round KO.
Adesanya's last fight was a 2nd-round TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov at age 35 on February 1, 2025. He is on a 3-fight losing streak.
He has fought 17 times in the UFC, and has a record of 12 wins and 5 losses in the promotion.
Some of Israel Adesanya's best fights have been against Robert Whittaker, Alex Pereira, Paulo Costa, Kelvin Gastelum, Yoel Romero, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier.
Adesanya has 5 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
29  | Feb 1, 2025 35 years, 6 months 24-5 (16) | 29 years, 11 months 15-4 (10) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | LOSS Punches |
28  | Aug 18, 2024 35 years 24-4 (16) | 30 years, 7 months 21-2 (19) | UFC | MD | 4 | SUB | LOSS Face crank For UFC middleweight title |
27  | Sep 10, 2023 34 years, 1 months 24-3 (16) | 32 years, 6 months 27-5 (15) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | LOSS Lost UFC middleweight title |
26  | Apr 8, 2023 33 years, 8 months 24-2 (16) | 35 years, 9 months 7-1 (6) | UFC | MD | 2 | KO | WIN Punches Won UFC middleweight title |
25 | Nov 12, 2022 33 years, 3 months 23-2 (15) | 35 years, 4 months 6-1 (5) | UFC | MD | 5 | TKO | LOSS Punches Lost UFC middleweight title |
24  | Jul 2, 2022 32 years, 11 months 23-1 (15) | 38 years, 3 months 15-5 (12) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC middleweight title |
23  | Feb 12, 2022 32 years, 6 months 22-1 (15) | 31 years, 1 months 23-5 (14) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC middleweight title |
22  | Jun 12, 2021 31 years, 10 months 21-1 (15) | 27 years, 8 months 17-4-1 (11) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC middleweight title |
21  | Mar 6, 2021 31 years, 7 months 20-1 (15) | 38 years 27-8 (17) | UFC | LHW | 5 | UD | LOSS For UFC light-heavyweight title |
20  | Sep 27, 2020 31 years, 2 months 20-0 (15) | 29 years, 5 months 13-0 (12) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches and elbows Defended UFC middleweight title |
19  | Mar 7, 2020 30 years, 7 months 19-0 (14) | 42 years, 10 months 13-4 (11) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC middleweight title |
18 | Oct 6, 2019 30 years, 2 months 18-0 (14) | 28 years, 9 months 20-4 (14) | UFC | MD | 2 | KO | WIN Punches Won UFC middleweight title |
17  | Apr 13, 2019 29 years, 8 months 17-0 (13) | 27 years, 5 months 16-3 (11) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | WIN Won UFC middleweight title Interim |
16  | Feb 10, 2019 29 years, 6 months 16-0 (13) | 43 years, 9 months 34-8 (26) | UFC | MD | 3 | UD | WIN |
15  | Nov 3, 2018 29 years, 3 months 15-0 (13) | 34 years, 9 months 18-6 (14) | UFC | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Knees and punches |
14  | Jul 6, 2018 28 years, 11 months 14-0 (12) | 30 years, 6 months 17-4 (7) | TUF | MD | 5 | UD | WIN |
13 | Apr 14, 2018 28 years, 8 months 13-0 (12) | 24 years, 6 months 12-3-1 (10) | UFC | MD | 3 | SD | WIN |
12  | Feb 11, 2018 28 years, 6 months 12-0 (12) | 25 years, 11 months 11-1 (10) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Knees and punches |
11 | Nov 24, 2017 28 years, 4 months 11-0 (11) | Stuart Dare | MD | 1 | KO | WIN Head kick | |
10  | Jul 28, 2017 28 years 10-0 (10) | 34 years, 3 months 32-18-2 (23) | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches Won AFC middleweight title | |
9 | May 28, 2016 26 years, 10 months 9-0 (9) | Murad Kuramagomedov | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
8 | May 7, 2016 26 years, 9 months 8-0 (8) | Andrew Flores Smith | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Corner stoppage | |
7 | Mar 13, 2016 26 years, 7 months 7-0 (7) | Dibir Zagirov | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
6 | Jan 13, 2016 26 years, 5 months 6-0 (6) | Vladimir Katykhin | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Doctor stoppage | |
5 | Sep 19, 2015 26 years, 1 months 5-0 (5) | Gele Qing | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Elbows | |
4 | Sep 5, 2015 26 years, 1 months 4-0 (4) | Maui Tuigamala | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Kick to the body | |
3  | Aug 8, 2015 26 years 3-0 (3) | 25 years, 4 months 9-1 (7) | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Head kick | |
2 | Jun 15, 2013 23 years, 10 months 2-0 (2) | John Vake | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
1 | Mar 24, 2012 22 years, 8 months 1-0 (1) | James Griffiths | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches |
