Adesanya beats Wilkinson bloody, puts middleweights on notice in UFC debut

Israel Adesanya proved as advertised in his first fight under the UFC banner.

The kickboxing phenom looked every bit his equally flamboyant and deadly self at Saturday's UFC 221 in Perth, beating fellow middleweight Rob Wilkinson bloody for a second-round TKO on the evening's prelims.

As if he hadn't impressed enough with the showing, the boisterous newcomer punctuated his 12th knockout in as many pro bouts with a bold call-out to the promotion's entire 185-pound crop: "Middleweights, I'm the new dog in this yard, and I just pissed all over this cage."

Adesanya didn't settle into a groove without some resistance from a gritty Wilkinson, who looked to clinch up against the fence and render his foe's striking stylings a non-factor in Round 1. The debutant flashed impressive takedown defense and landed at will throughout the opening frame, with his resilience in the grappling exchanges leaving Wilkinson short on gas heading into the second.

It was all Adesanya from there, as he rode some nasty body work, mixed up his strikes, and busted an increasingly helpless Wilkinson open before battering him with a steady stream of leather and knees for the stoppage 3:37 into the middle stanza.

Wilkinson has now suffered second-round TKO losses in each of his two UFC bouts.