Israel Adesanya announced himself to the UFC world Friday, beating fellow middleweight Brad Tavares via unanimous decision in highly impressive fashion during the main event of "The Ultimate Fighter 27."

In a very entertaining fight, Adesanya highlighted why he's one of the division's rising stars, smothering Tavares' early takedown attempts and looking far more comfortable than you'd expect from a fighter with only two UFC fights on his resume.

Tavares absorbed significant damage in the fourth - specifically to his right eye - as he struggled to contend with Adesanya's length and striking precision. Adesanya wasn't able to score the 13th knockout of his career, but all three judges recognized his dominance, scoring the fight 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46.

Adesanya extended his MMA record to 14-0 and his UFC record to 3-0, and will likely now take aim at one of the 185-pound division's bigger names.

Meanwhile, Tavares dropped to 12-5 in the UFC and snapped his four-fight winning streak.