UFC 263 stats: Can Israel Adesanya break Anderson Silva’s record?

With his win on Saturday, UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya broke a tie with Chris Weidman. Adesanya now stands alone as the fighter with the second longest winning streak in UFC middleweight history. Adesanya has 10 straight wins at 185 pounds. The only man with a longer run of consecutive wins is former champion Anderson Silva. Silva had a stretch of 13 straight middleweight wins in the UFC. In a coincidence, it was Weidman who ended Silva’s streak when he knocked out the Brazilian to claim the middleweight crown at UFC 162.

Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC 263. All three judges gave the fight to the defending champion by scores of 50-45. The bout was a rematch. In their first meeting, which took place in 2018, Adesanya topped Vettori via split decision in a three-round scrap. That remains the only split decision win on Adesanya’s record. He has five unanimous decisions, four knockouts and a split decision as a UFC middleweight. The only blemish on Adesanya’s record is a unanimous decision loss to UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. Adesanya moved to 205 pounds for that matchup, which took place in March.

A theory that emerged from the Blachowicz loss was that if a fighter could take Adesanya to the mat, that man could claim Adesanya’s throne. Vettori scored four takedowns on 14 attempts and accumulated nearly seven minutes of control time. However, Vettori didn’t generate offense on the mat. He landed zero ground strikes and attempted zero submissions. With that, it seems as if takedowns will not be enough to solve the puzzle that is Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya first fought for the UFC in 2018, he won that fight opposite Rob Wilkinson via TKO in the second round. He also claimed his first UFC fight-night bonus award with that win.

Below is a look at the stats from the Adesanya vs. Vettori rematch.