Israel Adesanya will enter the UFC 253 main event having last fought at UFC 248 in March, when he defended the UFC middleweight title with a decision victory over Yoel Romero. He captured the division’s crown in October of 2019, when he knocked out Robert Whittaker. That victory was preceded by an interim title-winning decision triumph over Kelvin Gastelum and big wins over Anderson Silva, Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. The champ is 19-0 overall.