Octagon
Robert Whittaker’s Saturday victory brightens rematch with Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya
In the main event of Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Vegas 24, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker, the New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist, scored a convincing 50-45 win on all three judges’ scorecards against Kelvin Gastelum, American professional mixed martial artist in the Middleweight division at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. In the early exchanges, Gastelum was aggressive and took control of the center of the Octagon. It was not what Whittaker wanted, so he quickly countered Gastelum, sending a message with a strong head kick that landed squarely. From then on, Whittaker established some of his dominance in the clash. Not long after, he showed he actually held the wrestling advantage as he took down the former collegiate wrestler and held him dow...
UFC: Israel Adesanya to fight Jan Blachowicz next
UFC star, Israel Adesanya, can expect to get back in the Octagon fairly soon, though it won’t be to defend his middleweight title. UFC President Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Adesanya will move up to light heavyweight to face Jan Blachowicz. White and Adesanya reportedly spoke about the move Friday with the undefeated Nigeria-born New Zealander on board to switch weight classes. Adesanya was spotted at UFC Fight Night 181 in Las Vegas on Saturday and had a small back-and-forth with middleweight Kevin Holland after the latter defeated Charlie Ontiveros via technical knockout. Holland appeared to call out Adesanya for a shot at the title after winning four straight bouts in 2020. It appears such a fight will have to wait—as will any potential middleweight title fight, which White...
President Buhari hails UFC champion Kamaru Usman
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday congratulated Kamarudeen Usman on the successful defence of his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title, saying his victory has lifted the spirits of Nigerians despite the gloom COVID-19 pandemic has brought. Buhari’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina. The statement was titled “President Buhari congratulates Kamaru Usman for retaining UFC title”. Usman had earlier in the day retained the title with an emphatic win over Jorge Masvidal. With the victory, Buharu said Usman had reminded the world that good things and great people still come out of Nigeria. He added that the victory further proved that things will get better at the fullness o...
