Nigerian mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya has been crowned 2020 fighter of the year at the World MMA Awards staged on Sunday, December 27.
Adesanya defeated the duo of Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa in the Octagon to increase his tally to 20 wins after 20 fights – winning 15 of those bouts through knockouts while the remaining were decided by the officials.
The New Zealand-born fighter also clinched Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Fighter of the Year Award, as well as the prize for International Fighter of the Year.
Daily Mail reports that this is the second consecutive time the Nigerian has won the award after winning unified the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2019.
In 2018, Adesanya won the Breakthrough Fighter of the Year prize and his stock continues to rise in the MMA community.
The 31-year-old kicked off the year with a victory over Romero in Las Vegas’ 248 event – his first fight since unifying the Middleweight Championship in October last year.
And then he knocked Costa out in the second round of his other fight of the year in September following a series of punches – a fight that won him Performance of the Night.
The publication has now predicted that the Nigerian could come up against one of his fiercest rivals in Jon Jones, with UFC president Dana White claiming that ‘Bones’ is ready to come out of retirement to take on the Middleweight champion.
