By: Alok Nayak Image credit: UFC
The UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya takes on Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281 at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
This will mark the sixth title defense for the Last Stylebender, who is still unbeaten in the middleweight division.
However, Israel Adesanya claims that this is his 7th title defense in UFC and he has a fascinating reason for that.
Israel Adesanya won the interim middleweight champion by beating Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236.
At the time, the reigning champion, Robert Whittaker was inactive for a long time due to life threatening injuries.
And Adesanya did not consider Whittaker the true champion because of his inactivity and he was a self proclaimed undisputed champion before he even fought Whittaker at UFC 243.
That's the reason why Adesanya says he has 6 title defense in his resume already instead of 5, which is factually correct.
Nevertheless, Israel Adesanya has proved himself as one of the best fighters of all time with his impressive title reign.
When Did Israel Adesanya Start Fighting? – Taking a Closer Look at the Last Stylebender