UFC: Poland’s Blachowicz Hands Adesanya First Career Defeat 

Polish legend Jan Blachowicz became the first man to defeat Israel Adesanya After earning a decision victory, to retain the light heavyweight title at UFC 259 from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Sunday morning, Completesports.com reports.

Blachowicz was handed a resounding win by the judges who scored the bout 49-46, 49-45, 49-45.

Adesanya came into the fight looking to become just the fifth UFC fighter in the organization’s history to hold belts in two weight divisions at the same time, after having spent the last two years in the middleweight division.

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After the fight, Adesanya said he’s going back to 185 pounds after stepping up in weight.

For Blachowicz he hasn’t lost since 2019, dropping a knockout loss to light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos. 

Since then, he has blown through the division, knocking out Luke Rockhold, Corey Anderson and Dominick Reyes en route to the division crown.

In Sunday’s contest both Adesanya and Blachowicz spent much of the first round testing each other’s range, trading the occasional shot with a more tentative approach. 

Blachowicz was a bit on his back foot as Adesanya’s technical prowess was on full display. Adesanya kept him at range, chipping front kicks and tossing feigns to keep the champion out of rhythm.

After a fairly uneventful first round, Blachowicz began to walk down Adesanya with a flurry of jabs. The chess match continued through much of the second, as Blachowicz found openings, but Adesanya escaped without much damage. 

On his part, Adesanya connected on his fair share of shots, opening up stinging leg kicks on the champ.

Blachowicz again opened the third with a handful of overhand shots. The champ got Adesanya on the ground and took his back, but the challenger found his way back his feet and hurt Blachowicz with a nice combination against the cage. 

Blachowicz looked to slow the challenger with his clinch game, pushing Adesanya against the cage. Adesanya again escaped, showing off his head movement before going on the offensive to finish the round.

To open the championship round, Blachowicz began to chip away with heavy-handed jabs and nice, counter left hand hooks. Two minutes into the round, Blachowicz got his first takedown of the fight and controlled his positioning in what would be a crucial fourth round for the champ.

In the final round, Adesanya took a more measured approach, keeping his distance while attacking with leg kicks and step jabs. Breathing heavy and keeping his hands low, Blachowicz struggled with the pace of Adesanya early in the fifth.

Midway through the round, though, Blachowicz shot and got Adesanya onto the ground with a massive double leg takedown. Blachowicz moved into the half guard and worked just enough to close the round on top.