Respect was earned at UFC 236.
In the co-main event, Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum stood toe-to-toe for five rounds and electrified fans at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Both men were rocked and wobbled at various points throughout the contest, but it was Adesanya who walked away with the victory after making a serious exclamation point in the fifth round.
After being badly hurt by a head kick in the fourth round, ‘The Last Stylebender’ turned the tides and came at Gastelum with everything he had, dropping The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner multiple times and almost finishing him in the dying seconds of the final round.
A barely conscious Gastelum somehow survived, and both men etched their names into the history books after engaging in what will surely be remembered as one of the greatest fights of all time.
Gastelum credited Adesanya as being the better man on the night, and Adesanya responded by paying homage to Gastelum’s toughness and personal strength.
It came down to the wire…we both put in on for the culture of fighting. You know me and I know you now, this is the fights movies are made of, that 5th round was some legendary shit. It was only possible cuz I had a man as tough as @KelvinGastelum to dance with.
So thank you KG https://t.co/3RZV19nuiu— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) April 15, 2019
“I left it all out there. @stylebender was the better man last night! Congratulations to him. I know our paths will cross again! This set back as well as all my other setbacks have made me a better person and mixed martial artist. Im so excited for the future,” Gastelum posted on Twitter.
“It came down to the wire…we both put in on for the culture of fighting. You know me and I know you now, this is the fights movies are made of, that 5th round was some legendary shit. It was only possible cuz I had a man as tough as @KelvinGastelum to dance with. So thank you KG,” Adesanya replied.
Following the win, Adesanya will go on to face reigning middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a title unification bout. And no matter what happens in that bout, it seems inevitable that Adesanya and Gastelum will lock horns again at some point in the future. Both men were destined to compete against each other.
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