MELBOURNE • The fans turned out in droves yesterday in anticipation of the headline bout at UFC 243 rivalling Holly Holm's upset knockout win over fellow American Ronday Rousey in 2015.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship had earlier announced a record crowd of 57,127 for the mixed martial arts event, surpassing previous mark of 56,214 who turned up at the same Docklands Stadium to catch the Rousey bout.
And the fans did not go home disappointed as the Israel Adesanya-Robert Whittaker middleweight title fight lived up to the hype.
Billed as one of the biggest contests to take place Down Under, the New Zealand-born Australian Whittaker exploded from the opening bell, throwing heavy shots against his Nigeria-born Kiwi opponent.
But despite the pressure, the undefeated Adesanya, 30, managed to stay composed during their exchange and in the final seconds of the first round, connected with a devastating uppercut that dropped "The Reaper" Whittaker.
Saved by the bell, Whittaker appeared groggy on his feet when the second round started and struggled to defend against "The Last Stylebender" as the latter took control of their Trans-Tasman tussle before landing a right-left combination that would see the champion hit the canvas for the second time.
After knocking out Whittaker, who suffered his first defeat at middleweight to drop to 20-5, Adesanya, whose streak now stands at 18-0, told Xinhua news agency the key was staying composed in the heat of the battle.
"Backstage I was so calm, I thought why do I feel this calm? I was so relaxed, I thought, should I be feeling this relaxed?" he said. "But I just used my energy properly.
"I was able to control it and channel it at the right moment which was inside the cage. I knew he would start fast and then fall over himself.
"(My coaches told me) what makes him great also makes him vulnerable and susceptible to a lot of things.
"I was in the nosebleeds. Now, I made his nose bleed... We had everything from his Plan A, B, C. We had everything up to Plan Z."
Classy in defeat, Whittaker, 28, said while it was a hard loss to swallow after "coming off second best", he would bounce back, adding: "I went out there, I showed my heart, I showed my skill set.
"We are walking a tightrope out there. Everybody can beat everybody.
"In the first round, I was hitting him, I was hurting him, I was doing damage. I felt like I was controlling the fight and then I just got caught."
XINHUA