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Undefeated Israel Adesanya defended his middleweight title in style with a dominant second-round stoppage of Paulo Costa at UFC 253 on Sunday.
Israel Adesanya celebrates after defeating Paulo Costa of Brazil in their middleweight championship fight during UFC 253 inside the Flash Forum at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi. Source: Getty
Jan Błachowicz of Poland also stopped Dominick Reyes at the end of the second round to claim the light heavyweight title vacated by Jon Jones at Fight Island, the bubble performance venue of the mixed martial arts promotion in the Middle East.
Adesanya (20-0) sliced through his previously undefeated Brazilian opponent with style and ease, hitting Costa with kicks before finishing late in the second round. Adesanya crushed Costa with a combination in the center of the octagon, and the champion finished on the ground with 61 seconds remaining in the round.
The victory was the ninth in a row in the UFC for Adesanya, the Nigerian-born and New Zealand-based phenomenon who has soared to prominence in mixed martial arts in the past three years.
In the co-main event of UFC 253, the 37-year-old Błachowicz (27-8) capped his career rise by winning his first UFC title.
After controlling most of the action in a slow first round, Błachowicz ended it abruptly when he landed a high left hook to the side of Reyes’ head. Reyes staggered, tripped and fell, and Błachowicz quickly finished him off to the ground with 24 seconds left in the round.
Little-known flyweight Brandon Royval also had a standout win at Fight Island, stopping Kai Kara-France with a guillotine choke in the second round.
Adesanya won her title last year by beating Robert Whittaker, but she needed a redemptive performance after defending her belt last March with a wildly boring decision over Yoel Romero in Las Vegas.
The champion known as “The Last Stylebender” reminded the UFC of what it can do while dispatching Costa with ease.
The heavily muscled Costa opened the fight with arrogant arrogance, daring Adesanya to kick his lead leg by putting his hands behind his back. Adesanya strutted back to Costa, but kept his distance largely and hit Costa with kicks.
Costa’s hitting game never got going, and Adesanya exhausted him before finishing the fight.
While Adesanya was the favorite, Błachowicz’s victory was a surprise. He is the first fighter besides Jones or Daniel Cormier to hold the UFC light heavyweight title since 2011, when Jones began his shaky reign.
Jones dropped his belt three times over the next nine years for doping offenses and criminal misconduct, but he always got it back. But he voluntarily renounced the title earlier this year after lengthy negotiations over the future of his career with the UFC, apparently receiving the financial incentive to move up to heavyweight.
But Jones doesn’t have a fight in store at heavyweight and Błachowicz isn’t buying the move.
“There is only one man on my mind,” Błachowicz said. “Jon Jones, where are you? Don’t give up. This is how we do it in Poland. I’m waiting for you.”
Błachowicz is a six-year Polish UFC veteran who earned this title shot with three consecutive victories, including arrests of former champion Luke Rockhold and Corey Anderson.
Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa. Source: Supplied
Reyes is a former Southern California college football player who recently took up the sport full-time, but his 12-0 career start earned him a title shot against Jones in February. Jones won their matchup by decision, but most observers thought Reyes had nearly pulled off the monumental upset, keeping him first in line for a second title shot when Jones vacated.
