Israel Adesanya has not yet encountered an equal at 185 pounds.
As Adesanya and Cannonier move ever closer to their confrontation, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
32: Years of age for Adesanya, who was born on July 22, 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria.
15: Adesanya wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 68% of his career total (22). His list of UFC victims: Whittaker, Brunson, Paulo Costa and Rob Wilkinson. Adesanya owns seven other wins by decision.
12: Knockdowns landed by Adesanya as a UFC middleweight, tying him with Nate Marquardt for second on the promotion’s all-time list at 185 pounds. Only Anderson Silva (13) has been credited with more.
45: Rounds completed by Adesanya as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance in eight different occasions and carries a 7-1 record in those bouts.
175: Combined victories between the nine men—Whittaker (twice), Costa, Brunson, Wilkinson, Silva, Gastelum, Marvin Vettori (twice), Yoel Romero and Brad Tavares—Adesanya has beaten since he joined the UFC roster in 2018. They boast a cumulative winning percentage of .761 (175-54-1).
38: Years of age for Cannonier, who was born in Dallas on March 16, 1984.
10: Cannonier victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 67% of his career total (15). His list of UFC victims: Brunson, Silva, Jack Hermansson, David Branch, Nick Roehrick and Cyril Asker. Cannonier holds two other victories by submission and three more by decision.
5: Promotions in which Cannonier has plied his mixed martial arts trade. He has gone 8-5 in the UFC, 4-0 in Alaska Fighting Championship, 1-0 in AK Entertainment, 1-0 in Alaska Cage Fighting and 1-0 in Midnight Sun Mayhem.
29: Seconds needed for Cannonier to punch Matt Herringshaw into submission at an Alaska Cage Fighting show on Oct. 28, 2011. Having unfolded more than a decade ago, it remains his fastest finish to date.
.768: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—Whittaker, Dominick Reyes, Jan Blachowicz, Glover Teixeira and Shawn Jordan—who have defeated Cannonier. They sport a combined record of 116-35.