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Israel Adesanya’s attempt to become a double UFC champion ended with the first loss of his mixed martial arts career.
After amassing a perfect 20-0 record, the reigning middleweight king finally met his match with the move to light heavyweight, as Jan Blachowicz (28-8) defended his title for the first time by unanimous decision.
The first three rounds were very close, although Adesanya appeared to outpace the Polish powerhouse, showing a clear speed advantage against the heavier fighter.
However, the judges saw it differently. And with Blachowicz taking control for the last two rounds on the back of his grip, all three officials awarded the fight their way, 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45.
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Having held the middleweight belt since October 2019, Adesanya was attempting to become the fifth fighter in UFC history to hold two titles in two separate divisions at the same time.
It was always a risk facing a much heavier opponent, who had won eight of his last nine bouts on the way to the top, and the Nigerian-Kiwi star took the loss in stride.
Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC / UFC / via Getty Images
Israel Adesanya (R) of New Zealand watches as Poland’s Jan Blachowicz of Poland celebrates their fight for the UFC light heavyweight championship during UFC 259 in Las Vegas.
“Yeah, it didn’t turn out exactly the way I wanted, but, you know … dare to be cool,” he said in the Octagon.
“You know, the critics are the ones on the sidelines, but I’m the one putting it into play.”
Despite a nearly 10kg difference between middleweight and light heavyweight, Adesanya chose not to bulk up for the fight and weighed 2kg less than Blachowicz.
When asked if she regretted that decision, Adesanya said: “Never. Never.
“That was just because of my fatigued legs. I don’t know from what. I’ll have to watch the tape. I knew what to do and was trying to do it.”
“Size played a factor, but my technique could have been a lot finer. It was like a bad day at the gym, except tonight is at the office.”
Adesanya’s middleweight title was not on the line Sunday and while he has unfinished business at light heavyweight, ‘The Last Stylebender’ plans to return for his next assignment.
“This is not something unique, I will definitely be back,” Adesanya added. “But I’m going to drop to 185 (pounds) and I’m going to discard that p … with my black iron fist.”
Surprisingly, Blachowicz was happy to keep the fight going in the first two rounds and Adesanya had no trouble avoiding his first blitzes.
It was a cautious start on Adesanya’s part: it had to be against a man with the power of Blachowicz. The Polish fighter showed a taste of what he could do early in the second, responding with a strong combination to the body after eating Adesanya’s left hand.
He followed that up with his first takedown attempt, but was unable to stay within Adesanya’s range long enough to deal significant damage.
Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC / UFC / via Getty Images
Jan Blachowicz of Poland on the attack on kiwi challenger Israel Adesanya. (Photo by Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Blachowicz showed much more aggressiveness in the third round and that played into Adesanya’s hands at times, putting his counterplay to the fore.
Adesanya won the round on two of the judges’ scorecards, but Blachowicz managed to score it multiple times with his left hand, which may have hit the other judge.
However, any momentum Adesanya might have had was dashed when Blachowicz knocked him to the ground two minutes into the fourth round.
Critics of the Kiwi have often said that it is an area where it could be exposed. But although Adesanya was never in danger of being subdued, Blachowicz managed to keep him pinned on his back.
It seemed like the fight took more away from Blachowicz in the fifth as Adesanya came out with more energy. But with two and a half minutes to go, Blachowicz secured another crucial takedown.
As much as Adesanya tried, he simply couldn’t get back on his feet and Blachowicz finished the contest raining down shots from full mounting position to finally do what no other fighter had ever done before.
In the co-feature event, Amanda Nunes (21-4) wasted no time defending her women’s featherweight championship against Megan Anderson (11-5), subjecting the Australian just 2 minutes 3 seconds into the first round with a barbell. arm.
There was no shortage of drama in the first title fight of the night when Aljamain Sterling (20-3) claimed the bantamweight crown after Petr Yan (15-2) was disqualified for an intentional foul.
Yan was ahead on two of the three judges’ scorecards in the fourth round when, despite the referee clearly saying Sterling was down, the Russian landed a heavy knee on the head.
Such a hit is illegal when a fighter is grounded and Sterling, who was visibly shaken, was crowned the new champion.
Earlier, Adesanya’s City Kickboxing teammates Kai Kara-France and Carlos Ulberg finished with mixed results in their respective preliminary bouts.
Kara-France, eighth-ranked flyweight (22-9), put the division on notice with a thrilling TKO victory over Rogeio Bontorin (16-3), knocking the Brazilian down just before the bell after being turned on his back. most of the first time. round.
Ulberg (5-1), meanwhile, got off to a promising start to his long-awaited UFC debut against Kennedy Nzechukwu (8-1) by making it through the first round.
However, Nzechukwu improved as the fight progressed and as Ulberg’s pace slowed he caught the Kiwi hands down to record a second round TKO victory.
