Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya is set to feature in the main event of UFC 259 in Miami against Poland’s Jan Blachowicz on Saturday 6th of March.
The Last Style bender, as the Nigerian-New Zealander Adesanya is fondly known looks to become only the fifth ever champ champ in UFC history as he looks to hold both the Middleweight and Light heavyweight titles at the same time.
Adesanya, who has an extensive range in the martial arts has a 5-1 record in boxing, 75-5 record in kickboxing, and 20-0 record in MMA for a total of 100 career wins in Martial Arts.
Both men last fought in September 2020, with Adesanya defeating Brazil’s Paulo Costa and also Yoel Romero in March 2020. Blachowicz also fought in September 2020 at UFC 253 where he defeated Dominick Reyes via Technical knockout (TKO) after raining him with a barrage of punches, and Corey Anderson in February 2020 at UFC 167 where he won after his punch knocked out his opponent to give him a victory via KO.
Adesanya is expected to weigh in at below 205 Pounds, which would make him the first man ever to compete in the light heavyweight division without reaching that weight. Adesanya and his head coach, Eugene Bareman have repeatedly implied that he may not weigh up to 205 Pounds for the fight, but Blachowicz has downplayed it all as a part of Adesanya’s scheme to get him to lower his guard a bit more and give him an easier fight.
Blachowicz also promised to make Adesanya have a taste of his “Polish power” with his very first punch or kick in the fight. This fight is widely expected to be Adesanya’s toughest ever for the main reason of its being his first fight in the division, as well as his smaller frame which can possibly work against him when he faces a fighter of Blachowicz’s pedigree.
When asked for a prediction, Blachowicz smiled and said that he planned to end the fight in the second round with a knockout. He even specified that the knockout was going to be from a high kick with his left leg.
Luke Rockhold is one fighter who was in a similar position to Adesanya against Blachowicz. He moved up from the middleweight division into the light heavyweight division where he was to face Blachowicz.
He called Blachowicz slow and stuff before the fight, and it ended with Blachowicz shattering his jaw with a ruthless left hand.
Adesanya certainly is not new to moving across weight divisions, having done so multiple times in his kickboxing career. He has even hinted at a shift to the heavyweight division in order to hold all three titles.
The fight is Blachowicz’s first time defending his light heavyweight title, and he has reiterated that he is focused, prepared and ready to take on Adesanya in any way possible.
The super fight will be the main event of UFC 259 on Sunday March 7th and all eyes will be on the fight between the two gladiators in the Octagon.
If you enjoy betting on MMA you can count on this bout and/or the other bouts scheduled for the day.
