Adesanya handily outstrikes Vettori, remains undefeated

He may not have secured a knockout, but Israel Adesanya dazzled nonetheless.

In his first bout to go the distance, the lauded middleweight prospect easily dissected Marvin Vettori with a varied striking attack through two of three rounds to claim a pair of scorecards at UFC on FOX 29 in Glendale, Ariz. on Saturday.

The split verdict kept Adesanya's 13-fight record unblemished, two months after stopping Rob Wilkinson by second-round TKO in his promotional debut at UFC 221.

A composed Adesanya feinted early and often, kept an active jab, and chopped away at Vettori's lead right leg with kicks while the Italian native struggled to get the fight to the mat and land little other than a few kicks to the body in Round 1.

The striking phenom appeared to be toying with Vettori from there, drawing him out and connecting with everything he uncorked, from uppercuts to head kicks to standing elbows, and while a durable Vettori managed to score a couple of hard-fought takedowns in the third, Adesanya's flamboyant display on the feet was what swayed two of three judges.

Vettori's UFC record falls to 2-2-1 after seeing his three-round battle with Omari Akhmedov end in a majority draw at UFC 219 in December.