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Israel Adesanya remained undefeated after successfully defending his UFC middleweight title with a second-round stoppage of Paulo Costa at UFC 253 at Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island on Saturday night (Sunday Manila time).
Adesanya blew out his opponent with solid combinations, highlighted by a left hook that staggered Costa, before taking him to the ground and hitting the action in the center of the cctagon.
This prompted referee Jason Herzog to stop the match at the 2:59 mark.
“In the second round I knew his left leg was screwed up,” said Adesanya, who unleashed various kicks and punch combinations that were lethal in the second round. “I couldn’t push.”
“I told you guys that it was going to be violent and that it would end quickly. That ‘s what I did. It was a bit sloppy, but I’m a dog so I do what I do, ”added the 31-year-old champion.
It was only the second time in UFC history that two undefeated male fighters met for a title fight, and the first time since 2009 when Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida fought for the light heavyweight belt.
With the victory, the Nigerian-born fighter claimed his ninth consecutive victory and his second successful defense of the title after a unanimous decision win over Yael Romeo last March.
Adesanya stole the middleweight title last year by defeating Robert Whittaker.
Costa, for his part, suffered his first defeat in 14 games.
In the light heavyweight title bout, Pole Jan Blachowicz stopped Dominick Reyes late in the second round to take the throne vacated by the great Jon Jones of the UFC.
The victory made Blachowicz the first man to hold the division title since 2011, alongside Jones and former champion Daniel Cormier.
The stoppage came after Blachowicz launched a flurry of blows, which bloodied Reyes’s nose, which appeared to be broken.
Blachowicz, 37, posted his eighth division win since 2017 to improve at 27-8, while Reyes slipped to 12-2.
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