Israel Adesanya’s 2019 Fight of the Year winner with Kelvin Gastelum has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
‘The Last Stylebender’ announced himself to the MMA world by beating Gastelum for the interim middleweight title in a gruelling 25-minute war at UFC 236 in April 2019.
In the end, he got his hand raised via unanimous decision but he had to come through serious adversity en route to the eventual victory.
Gastelum sent Adesanya reeling backwards into the fence with a booming right hook in the opening stanza.
But Adesanya came back to drop Gastleum with a clubbing overhand in round two.
Round three, saw several wild exchanges while the fourth frame was capitalised by a massive head kick from Gastelum that buckled Adesanya’s knees.
As the shot connected, Adesanya began to retreat while Gastelum poured on the pressure.
Yet somehow, someway, the Kiwi managed to weather the storm and come back firing.
Just before the final round got underway, a battered and bruised Adesanya was seen mumbling: “You’re not going to beat me. I’m prepared to die,” from across the cage.
Spurred on by the importance of the next five minutes, the 34-year-old went on to floor Gastelum three times in an epic conclusion.
All three judges awarded him a 10-8 round for his spirited display down the home straight and it proved to be the difference with scorecards of 48-46, 48-46, and 48-46 in his favour.
Six years on from their barn-burning bout, the UFC inducted the fight into its Hall of Fame at UFC 312 on Saturday evening.
Adesanya was in attendance for the card and was given a standing ovation when the announcement was made.
Speaking to ESPN, moments later, he said: “It was a surprise definitely.
“Watching it back I am surprised I kept my composure and my emotions in check.
“I was being present and thankful for the moment.
“But I want to say thank you to Kelvin because it is not just me.
“It takes two to tango and he is a great dance partner.
“It means a lot [to be inducted]. At first, I thought ‘I’m too young. I am still fighting.’
“But then when they said it was for the fight I was like ‘Oh ok that was an instant classic’ so I respect it.”
In his next outing, Adesanya unified the middleweight titles against Robert Whittaker. And the rest is history.
“I remember Kevin being a hard man to kill,” he added. “Like I said [in the Octagon] ‘I am ready to die’.
“And I was really trying to kill him but without him this wouldn’t be possible so I’m really grateful to you Kelvin, you are the man.
“And again without him, I wouldn’t level up to who I am right now.
“As a man not just as a fighter. That was one of the greatest moments of my life, top three and I will forever be grateful for Kelvin for those moments.”
UFC president Dana White also paid tribute to the clash: “The fight between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 was one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen in my life.
“This was an absolute war with the interim title on the line.
“Congrats to Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum on a fight that will always be remembered!”
