Israel Adesanya Extends U.F.C. Reign, and the Money Follows

Each fighter’s game plan was apparent from the first moments of the bout. Whittaker, an Australian who was born in New Zealand, wanted to fight at close range. Adesanya wanted to use his fast hands and high-impact kicks to keep Whittaker at a distance.

Whittaker successfully took Adesanya to the mat four times, according to the U.F.C.’s statistics. Adesanya landed 98 strikes, compared with 74 for Whittaker, who also sported a bright red welt on the inside of his left thigh, where Adesanya had kicked him repeatedly.

Two judges scored the fight, 48-47, and the third had it, 49-46, all for Adesanya.

“I wasn’t really looking past Robert; I took him really seriously,” said Adesanya, who has gone to decision in four of his last five bouts. “All the way to the last bell, I knew he was dangerous.”

Whittaker, 31, accepted the decision, even if he didn’t agree with it.

“I thought I beat him to every punch,” Whittaker said. “I got takedowns. I thought I did enough.”

Immediately afterward, Whittaker began campaigning for a third bout with Adesanya, calling it “inevitable.”

But Adesanya and White have targeted Jared Cannonier, a Dallas native and middleweight contender who scored a knockout of Derek Brunson on the U.F.C. 271 undercard.

“The division is filled with killers,” Adesanya said. “I’m looking forward to fresh meat.”

Late in the fight on Saturday night, a few fans booed, apparently looking for more violence. Adesanya’s bout with Whittaker did seem pedestrian next to the other main bout, between Tai Tuivasa of Australia and Derrick Lewis of the United States, power-punching heavyweights who traded takedowns and heavy blows for two hectic rounds. The bout ended when Tuivasa landed an elbow to Lewis’s face, knocking him unconscious and sending him to the mat face first.