Now that Israel Adesanya has nudged Robert Whittaker out of his path, the UFC middleweight champion can set his sights on his ultimate destination: surpassing Anderson Silva.
Adesanya, the Nigeria-born New Zealander's tight but unanimous decision victory over Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night in Houston was his fourth defense of the title. That breaks a tie with Chris Weidman for the second most times a 185-pounder has successfully put the UFC belt up for grabs.
And now that second place is Adesanya's alone, he had better make himself comfortable.