Nigerian mixed martial artist, Israel Adesanya has defeated Yoel Romero of Cuba to retain his UFC middleweight title.
The undefeated 30-year-old achieved the feat at the UFC 248 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.
Romero, 42, had seemed the better of the two fighters early on, landing some big shots in the first two of the five-round encounter.
However, the champion upped his game from the third round, disorienting the stout Cuban with powerful leg kicks.
Romero also caught on in the fourth as he threw his hands more often after a warning from the referee.
“You gotta give the judges something to score,” referee Dan Miragliotta told Adesanya and Romero before the start of the fourth round.
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Recall that the Nigerian became UFC champion in October 2019 after beating Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.
His rival however came into the match on the back of two consecutive defeats, losing first to Whittaker in UFC 225 in Chicago and then Paulo Costa at UFC 241 in California.
The Nigerian won the fight via unanimous decision: 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.
“I did what I had to do and picked him apart. The legs don’t lie. I f—ed his leg up,” the champion said after the fight.