Israel Adesanya, born July 22, 1989, in Nigeria and raised in New Zealand, is a professional mixed martial artist competing in the UFC middleweight division, nicknamed "The Last Stylebender."[1][5] He began his combat sports career in kickboxing before transitioning to MMA in 2012, securing a TKO debut win over James Griffiths and building an 11-0 record with titles like the Australia Fighting Championship and Hex Fight Series middleweight championships.[1] Adesanya joined the UFC in 2018, debuting with a TKO over Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221 and going undefeated through victories against Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, Anderson Silva, and Kelvin Gastelum, whom he beat for the interim middleweight title.[1] He unified the undisputed championship with a second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker.[1] As a two-time champion, he made five successful defenses before a failed light heavyweight title bid against Jan Błachowicz in 2021.[1] Setbacks included losing the belt to Alex Pereira at UFC 281, though he avenged it to reclaim the title, and later defeats that contributed to his professional record of 24-5-0.[1][4][5] Known for his striking precision—career stats show 4.02 strikes landed per minute at 48% accuracy—Adesanya stands 6'4" and weighs 185 pounds.[4][5] Recent events include a TKO loss to Nassourdin Imavov about a year ago and a scheduled headline fight against Joe Pyfer on a UFC card in Seattle, maintaining his relevance in the division amid discussions of top contenders like Dricus du Plessis.[2] At 36, he remains a prominent figure in MMA rankings and fight planning.[2][5]