UFC 271 results and recap: Adesanya retains middleweight gold in Toyota Center's most grossing event

Main Event: UFC Middleweight Championship

In the main event of UFC 271, Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya met No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker in a nail-biting rematch that went all five rounds.

Adesanya showed his brilliant striking and evasive movement, and Whittaker showed improvement in the reach of his jab and takedown ability since their first encounter.

While Whittaker was able to advance slowly through the rounds, Adesanya was on top of everything he threw and overcame every shoot.

After his fourth successive title retention, Adesanya said, "I knew he was going to bring everything, because last time I took everything from him. He had nothing to lose. But I'm the champ, if you want it, come get it. I'm the big dog in this cage."

Co-main Event: Lewis vs. Tuivasa

"Swang and bang"! It's what the heavyweight rankers No. 3 Derrick Lewis and No. 11 Tuivasa said they would do, and they delivered. In unexpected performances, the "swang" part came from Lewis executing big trips, and the "bang" came from Tuivasa's elbow, which got him a second round KO.

Following the KO win, Tuivasa said, "That's the king of knockouts - much respect to Derrick. But like I said, I'm young and I'm upcoming. I'm taking over now. My name's Tai, like Muay Thai! I like nitty-gritty, and I'm always down to get down!"

Middleweight mayhem continued with top contenders showdown

No. 3 ranked Jared Cannonier and No. 4 ranked Derek Brunson put on an incredible brawl, with Brunson's wrestling dominating at first, then Cannonier's heavy strikes launching him to a second round TKO. With the victory, Cannonier places himself as a likely candidate for the next title shot.

Lightweight luminaries round off main card

Two back-to-back lightweight bouts showcased the next rankers: Bobby Green put on a masterclass in striking to decision Nasrat Haqparast, and Renato Moicano showed off his grappling prowess by submitting Alexander Hernandez with a rear naked choke in the second round.

Bittersweet farewell for Roxanne

In the final fight of a career spanning almost two decades, women's MMA pioneer and No. 12 ranked flyweight Roxanne Modafferi went the distance with undefeated No. 15 ranked Casey O'Neill. Modafferi battled to the end, but a win was not on the scorecards as O'Neill out-struck her with a flyweight record of 229 significant strikes en route to a split decision.

Other Prelims and Early Prelims Highlights

Jeremiah Wells choked Blood Diamond to earn the first submission win of the night in a welterweight bout, while Douglas Silva de Andrade also in similar fashion continued his momentum in a bantamweight bout with a submission win over Sergey Morozov, and in the third submission win on the card, Kyler Phillips defeated Marcelo Rojo also in a bantamweight bout.

Meanwhile, there were also decision wins for Andrei Arlovski, Carlos Ulberg, Ronnie Lawrence, Jacob Malkoun and Maxim Grishin on the under card.

UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 Final Results

Main Card

1. Middleweight title bout: Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

2. Heavyweight bout: Tai Tuivasa def. Derrick Lewis via KO at 1:40 of the second round

3. Middleweight bout: Jared Cannonier def. Derek Brunson via TKO (strikes) at 4:29 of the second round

4. Lightweight bout: Renato Moicano def. Alexander Hernandez via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:23 of the second round

5. Lightweight bout: Bobby Green def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

1. Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski def. Jared Vanderaa via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

2. Women's Flyweight bout: Casey O'Neill def. Roxanne Modafferi via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

3. Bantamweight bout: Kyler Phillips def. Marcelo Rojo via submission (armbar) at 1:48 of round three

4. Light Heavyweight bout: Carlos Ulberg def. Fabio Cherant via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Early Preliminary Card

1. Bantamweight bout: Ronnie Lawrence def. Mana Martinez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)

2. Middleweight bout: Jacob Malkoun def. AJ Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Bantamweight bout: Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:34 of the second round

4. Welterweight bout: Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:38 of the first round

5. Heavyweight bout: Maxim Grishin def. William Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)