Robert Whittaker's fairytale ending falls agonisingly short in UFC middleweight title rematch against Israel Adesanya

Robert Whittaker's journey to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship has fallen agonisingly short, going down via unanimous decision to old rival Israel Adesanya.

The two embraced and raised each other's hands into the air at the end of a fight that regardless of the result, more than lived up to the hype. 

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Apart from the first round being clearly for the champ, you could make a case for either the rest of the way. 

And in the end, Whittaker needed just one more round on two of the scorecards to reclaim his title as the judges' scorecards read out 48-47, 48-47, 49-46. 

"I knew he was going to bring everything because last time I took everything away from him," Adesanya said after the win.

"So he had nothing to lose. As I said, I'm the champ, if you want it, come get it."

Sometimes you don't get perfect endings, but this rematch was as much about going the distance as it was winning, which you could tell from the smile on Whittaker's face even after the scores were announced. 

He's gotten back in the ring with the only man to beat him as a middleweight, and more than held his own. 

"I know I started off rocky in that first round, but I feel like I took every round after that," Whittaker said.

"It is what it is. I'm happy I fought my heart out and left it here, but I'm gutted.

"I felt I did enough, I thought I took that."

But if Australian MMA fans needed a win, all they had to do was look a bit further down the card. 

Tai Tuivasa, the rough around the edges western Sydney boy who many questioned if he had the drive and work ethic to beat the top guys - question it no longer. 

Not to mention Casey O'Neill getting the biggest win of her career and flipping off a hostile American crowd in the process, or Jacob Malkoun making it back-to-back victories in impressive fashion. 

But it was "Bam Bam" who stole the show. 

Tuivasa looked beaten multiple times, eating punches that would have put others to sleep. Instead, he responded with a vicious combination that silenced not just his opponent, but his hometown fans. 

The former Panthers prospect never looks too far down the line - he brushed off talk of a title fight when asked last week, but that could now be a possibility. It may still be a fight or two away, but he's now given absolutely no doubt that he belongs.

What's next for Whittaker is a bit more unclear. 

Regardless he'll probably have to wait a while to fight for the gold again as Jared Cannonier earned a title shot earlier in the evening with an impressive win over Derek Brunson, but barring Adesanya hanging up the gloves to go and do something else, there's little doubt the pair will cross paths again. 

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