Israel Adesanya Tastes Defeat For the First Time From Blachowicz's Punches

Jan Blachowicz gave Israel Adesanya his first taste of defeat to defend his light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 259 at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.

Nigerian-born Adesanya, the middleweight champion, moved up to light heavyweight to challenge Blachowicz, trying to become a double belt holder, but the latter deservedly claimed the victory (in his first title defence) via unanimous decision after five rounds of high quality mixed martial arts.

The first three rounds were very even, with both Adesanya and Blachowicz landing some clean hits in a technical kickboxing showdown. ‘The Last Stylebender’ was the faster and more fluid of the two, though the heavier Blachowicz just about held his own.

However, the Pole bossed the final two rounds after landing takedowns, using his grappling and bigger body mass to dominate in top position.

READ ALSO: UFC 253: Israel Adesanya Retains Unbeaten Status, Knocks Out Paulo Costa

“I knew that I would be better on the ground. I just had to wait for the good moment [for a takedown],” said the champion.

For Adesanya, it was the other way.

“I knew what to do and how to do it, the size played its part [in the wrestling] but I had to be better in my technique,” said Adesanya after the fight. In terms of fighting at light heavyweight again, he added: “This is not a one-off, I definitely will be back. Dare to be great.”

The co-main event saw Amanda Nunes further establish her legacy as a UFC great, easily dispatching Megan Anderson with a first-round triangle armbar submission to defend her women’s featherweight championship.

The 32-year-old Brazilian is certainly the greatest female fighter of all time and her win streak of 12 matches is second only to Kamaru Usman’s 13 in terms of current, active competitors.

The next UFC event is a Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on March 14, headlined by a welterweight battle between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad.

UFC 259 – Main card results

- Main event: Light heavyweight championship: Jan Blachowicz def. Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision (49-46 49-45 49-45), R5, 5:00

- Co-main: Women’s featherweight championship: Amanda Nunes def. Megan Anderson via submission (triangle armbar), R1, 2:03

- Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan via disqualification (illegal knee), R4, 4:29

- Lightweight: Islam Makhachev def. Drew Dober via submission (arm-triangle choke), R3, 1:37

- Light heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakic def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision, R3, 5:00