UFC 259 was a stacked event that featured 3-title fights: the highly anticipated champion vs. champion bout between Jan Błachowicz and Israel Adesanya. While the promotion has held several events featuring 3 championship title fights, this was the first event where 5 current champions competed on the same card, thanks to Amanda Nunes’ double champ status.
The legendary Polish power
Poland’s first male UFC champion, Jan Błachowicz, successfully defended his Light Heavyweight title against undefeated Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. This marked Błachowicz’s first title defense since winning the vacant title at UFC 253 in September, the same night Adesanya defended his Middleweight belt. Competing on the same night perfectly set the stage for a champion vs. champion matchup. Adesanya was hoping to become the fifth fighter in the promotion’s history to hold two belts simultaneously. Unfortunately for “The Last Stylebender,” the Polish Power of Błachowicz was too much to overcome.
The first 3 rounds were extremely close, with Błachowicz and Adesanya trading shots yet not overly committing. One wrong move, and the night would’ve been over for either fighter. Błachowicz found tremendous success in the championship rounds when he landed 2 huge takedowns on Adesanya. Adesanya had no answer and spent the remainder of the fourth and fifth rounds on his back. All 3 judges scored the bout for Błachowicz.
What’s next for both divisions
Błachowicz told the world to stop doubting him with his performance last night. His win over the undefeated No. 3 ranked Pound-For-Pound fighter in Adesanya adds to Błachowicz’s legacy as champion. Some fans will continue to see Jon Jones as the “real” Light Heavyweight champ, but the only way for Błachowicz to change minds is to continue winning. The obvious next opponent for Błachowicz is Glover Teixeira, who was weighed-in and was the alternate fighter for UFC 259’s main event.
Adesanya will go back down to Middleweight and defend his title once a clear number one contender emerges. There is a lot of movement coming at the top of the Middleweight division in the coming months, meaning a title shot is up for grabs.
The greatest female fighter of all time
Not only is Amanda Nunes clearly the greatest female fighter of all time, but she’s also one of the pound-for-proud greatest combat sports athletes ever, regardless of gender.
Nunes, the only current double champ in the promotion, defended her featherweight title against Megan Anderson with a gorgeous triangle armbar. This was Nunes’ first submission victory since winning the Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in 2016. Nunes is dangerous everywhere. After such a dominant victory, the only question is, “what’s next?” The Women’s Bantamweight division has no clear number one contender. We should expect Nunes to take some well-deserved time off and enjoy time with her newly born daughter.
First DQ champion
There is nothing worse for the fighters, promotion, and fans than an epic back and forth fight, ending prematurely with controversy. It is even worse when it is a title fight. For the first time, a UFC champion was named as a result of disqualification.
Title fights like the one between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling don’t come often. Yan won the Bantamweight title this past summer, and his first title defense was against number 1 ranked Sterling. The two showed why they deserved to be fighting for the title. Sterling brought high-pace grappling and unorthodox strikes, while Yan stayed composed, making Sterling pay when he overcommitted.
Going into the fourth round, it appeared to be any man’s fight, but Sterling noticeably began to slow down. Late into the round, in what can only be described as the poorest example of Fight I.Q., Yan landed an illegal knee to Sterling’s head while Sterling was a grounded fighter. Under the Unified Rules of MMA, a fight is grounded once their knee or anything other than the soles of the feet are on the ground. In this case, Sterling’s knee was on the ground when Yan threw the illegal strike. The blow clearly concussed Sterling, who struggled to even sit up without assistance. Yan’s illegal strike was considered intentional, causing him to be disqualified and naming Sterling the new champion. Before the illegal strike, Yan was winning, 29-28, on 2 out of the 3 judge’s scorecards.
Sterling had to be nearly carried out of the octagon and was rushed to the hospital for further inspection.
