With victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, Israel Adesanya proves he is the UFC's unsolvable middleweight riddle

In beating Robert Whittaker for a second time, Israel Adesanya is running out of worlds to conquer, while condemning the Australian to title purgatory.

In their title rematch at UFC 271 in Houston, Adesanya's technical skill, ability to control the distance and excellent takedown defence helped him navigate the challenge of Whittaker and retain the belt he claimed back in 2019.

The sequel could not have been more different to the original. Gone were the kamikaze blitzes that Adesanya exploited to finish Whittaker in Melbourne – this was a far more cerebral battle, with both fighters searching constantly for the tiniest of openings.

Israel Adesanya beats Australian UFC star Robert Whittaker for the second time to keep the middleweight title, after fellow Aussie Tai Tuivasa shocks KO king Derrick Lewis.

In the end, Adesanya's range helped him keep Whittaker off him and his precision as a striker was once again on show. Unless he moves up to light-heavyweight again, he is MMA's unsolvable puzzle, a riddle without an answer, a maze with no exits and no prize in the centre.

With Whittaker out of the picture, Adesanya could well put together a lengthy streak of title defences. Simply put, he is running out of challengers who have a realistic chance of beating him.

«I knew he was going to bring everything cause last time I took everything away from him,» Adesanya said.

«So he had nothing to lose. Like I said, I'm the champ, you want it, come get it.»

Jared Cannonier was impressive in his second-round victory over Derek Brunson on the undercard, and will likely fight for the title next, but for all the American's power and panache, Adesanya will be warmly favoured. Beyond that, the talent pool runs thin.

Adesanya has said he's chasing