Top Prospect Israel Adesanya Shines in UFC Debut with Second Round TKO

A new star has arrived in the UFC as highly touted prospect Israel Adesanya made his debut on Saturday night where he earned a second round TKO victory before sending a message to the rest of the middleweight division.

Adesanya entered his first fight against Rob Wilkinson with a perfect 11-0 record while also having an incredibly impressive resume from his kickboxing career as well.

Of course as a prolific striker, Adesanya was fending off takedowns from Wilkinson almost immediately as the Australian was virtually attached to him throughout the opening round. By the time the fight had finished, Wilkinson had attempted 16 takedowns but by the time the second round got underway he was starting to breathe heavy and Adesanya was on the attack.

The long, rangy striker battered Wilkinson with a series of straight punches that obliterated his nose before digging to the body with several hard shots. Finally, Adesanya pinned Wilkinson against the cage and began unloading with a barrage of strikes, although never went crazy but instead used precise combinations to do maximum damage.

"The rest of the strikers in this division…you're on notice." — @jimmysmithmma

Israel Adesanya wins his debut at #UFC221 over Rob Wilkinson! https://t.co/4D2GhxOjen

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 11, 2018

The referee saw enough after Adesanya just continued his assault without much defense being offered by Wilkinson other than holding his hands up to cover his head.

After the victory, an electric Adesanya sent a not so subtle warning to the rest of the UFC middleweight division that a new contender has officially arrived.

“Middleweights — I’m the new dog in the yard,” Adesyana said. “And I just pissed all over this cage”