Israel Adesanya extended his unbeaten record to 14 fights tonight with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Brad Tavares in the main event of the TUF 27 Finale.
Round One:
The TUF 27 Finale main event is underway in Las Vegas!
Double jab for Tavares to start. kick for Adesanya. Body punch for Tavares. He steps in with a three-piece combo and then works into the clinch against the cage.
Adesanya peels away but eats a right hand as he does so. Leg kick for Adesanya. Another leg kick for him. Right hand for Tavares. Jab and a leg kick behind it for Adesanya.
Inside leg kick for Adesanya and then another to the body. Good left hand for Adesanya. Leg kick for Tavares. Couple of straight lefts get through for Tavares.
Single leg attempt from Tavares, but Adesanya escapes. Body punch for Adesanya. Body kick for Adesanya. Another lands. Exchange of punches but both fighters miss the mark. tavares does follow up with a punch though.
Final 10 sconds of the round and Adesanya rolls into a leg lock attempt. It looks flashy, but it doesn’t pay off, but Tavares doesn’t have time to do anything on top.
Round Two:
A few missed strikes and then a body kick for Adesanya. Knee to the body from Adesanya. He tries a head kick that’s blocked. Spinning kick just wings over the target.
Punch and then a head kick from Adesanya. Tavares barges into a takedown attempt and presses Adesanya up against the cage. Adesanya reverses the position and then gets away.
Jab for Adesanya but then one in return harder from Tavares. Overhand right from Tavares. Another punch from him. Leg kick from Tavares. And again.
Side kick attempt from Adesanya. Left hook lands. Jab for Tavares. Now a solid overhand right. Jabs exchanged. ref warns Adesanya for fingers in the face and says he’ll take a point next time.
BIg body kick for Adesanya and that seemed to hurt Tavares. Tavares hangs in there though and sruvives that troubling moment.
Tavares with a couple of hooks in close to end the round.
Round Three:
Tavares pressuring with punches early in the third. Left knee almost lands upstairs for Adesanya. Jabs for Tavares. Kick to the legs from Adesanya.
Another kick for Adesanya. Strong knee to the head from Adesanya, but Tavares motions him forward. Punch for Tavares. Jabs for Adesanya.
Clinch from Adesanya. he gets the thai clinch and then trips Tavares to the mat. Tavares back up. in the clinch and a knee from Adesanya lands to the body.
Back to striking range. Jab for Adesanya. Body punch for him. Leg kick. left hand for Tavares. Tavares in on a takedown , but Adesanya does really well with stuffing that and staying upright.
Tavares with a body punch. Head kick for Adesanya is blocked. One goes to the legs. Tavares presses Adesanya up agianst the cage in a body lock.
Adesanya manages to escape. Elbow for Adesanya. Adesanya catches a leg and then lands a spinning elbow. Jab lands for Tavares. Hard right hand for Adesanya and that stopped Tavares in his tracks momentarily.
Knee for Adesanya. Good right hand and a head kick attempt for Adesanya that’s blocked. Head kick lands for Adesanya. Tavares stays up but he was put in a lot of trouble in those last 90 seconds of the round.
Round Four:
Good left hand for Adesanya, but tavares lands one in return. Tavares tries for a takedown, but has to settle for the clinch against the cage.
Tavares going deep hoping for a single leg and does manage to get Adesanya down. Adesanya uses his long legs to try to push Tavares away and then looks for a triangle choke attempt, but Tavares quickly escapes that.
Tavares on top and Adesanya manages to stand and then nicely utilizes a kimura to take his opponent down. Good work for him. They are soon back upright though and Adesanya lands a slicing elbow that opens up a cut for Tavares. The ref soon stops the fight to get the doctor to check on that cut, but he’s ok to continue.
Adesanya with left hands and then a right. Tavares tries for a takedown and tries to clinch against the cage, but Adesanya pushes him away.
Hard right hand from Adesanya gets Tavares attention. Low kick for Adesanya. Leg kick for him. Now a jab. Solide leg kick.
Right hand for Tavares. Adesanya looking to land knees from the clinch, but Tavares lands a punch instead. Knee for Adesanya.
Round Five:
Tavares tries for a takedown and Adesanya denies it and shoves him over towards the cage. GOod jab for Tavares. leg kick for Adesanya. Tavares fails on a takedown attempt and it’s Adesanya who goes on top.
Tavares turtled up on his knees for now and Adesanya landing some punches to the head. Tavares trying for a kneebar, but Adesanya steps away and gets back to his feet.
leg kick for Adesanya. Right hook for Adesanya. Another body kick from Adesanya bounces of his opponent’s arms. leg kick for him now. Another lands.
Another failed takedown attempt from Tavares. Adesanya chooses to follow him down. Final two minutes of the round and Adesanya stands, landing a knee as he does so.
Right hand for Tavares. latest failed attempt at a takedown from Tavares. Leg kick for Adesanya. BOdy punch now. Back to the leg kick and again.
Kick upstairs from Adesanya. Leg kick. Body punch. Elbow followed by a left hand. Leg kick. Tavares back on his knees after another stuffed takedown.
One last takedown attempt from Tavares and Adesanya counters with a submission attempt, but there’s not enough time left to really work it properly.
Decision:
Excellent performance from Adesanya here, showing not only his excellent striking ability, but also glimpses of a better than expected ground game too and that helps him to a convincing unanimous decision victory (49-46, 50-45 x2).
