Going from newcomer to middleweight champ in under two-years, Israel Adesanya made arguably the most rapid ascent through the UFC ranks of any fighter.
Nicknamed 'The Last Stylebender', the huge anime fan claimed the middleweight title in October 2019 by knocking out Robert Whittaker, and went on to make four successful defenses.
An ill-fated attempt to claim the light heavyweight belt in March 2021 at UFC 259 ended in defeat to Poland's Jan Blachowicz, casting doubt on his aims to step up to heavyweight in the future and his long-term plan to become an unprecedented three-division champion.
That defeat was later followed up with further disappointment with the loss of his middleweight crown to Pereira in November, making this rematch a potentially pivotal moment in the 33-year-old's MMA career.
Despite those defeats, the Nigerian-born, New Zealand resident has a mightily impressive 23-2 career record and 12-2 in the Octagon, with all of those UFC victories having come since February 2018.