With three title fights headlining Sunday’s UFC 259, it has all the feel of a Supercard! Watch the fight LIVE on 7 March on the UFC Arabia Channel on STARZPLAY at 2.30 am UAE time & 1.30 am Riyadh.
Light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz headlines the pay-per-view card from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas against reigning middleweight king and The Last Stylender Israel Adesanya. Women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and bantamweight titleholder Petr Yan will also make title defenses on this fateful night!
Israel Adesanya has had an exciting reign at UFC having been a part of the programme for 3 years only. With a track record of 20 wins & 0 losses, the reigning middleweight champion is 9-0 inside the Octagon with four knockouts, a trio of title defenses, and victories over the likes of Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, and Paulo Costa. The 31-year-old fighter will now compete for the UFC’s 205-pound Light Heavyweight title, a victory that would give him historic immortality over Jan Blachowicz and make him a two-division champion, a rare feat for a UFC fighter!
Jan Blachowicz on the other hand is the current Light Heavyweight champion competing to defend his current title. At 27 Wins & 8 Losses currently, he became the first-ever Male Polish Champion in the UFC when he defeated the former title challenger Dominick Reyes in the co-main event at UFC 253 by knocking out the ‘Devastator’ in spectacular fashion. Jan found success in the early round of the match itself by landing a hard left body kick that even led to marks on Reyes’ ribs. Jan noticed the slowing down of Reyes and went on to finish him in the second round by technical knockout. It was an iconic moment in the career of the Polish MMA star, but his journey is something equally spectacular.
UFC has never had a three-division champion in the promotion’s 28-year history. It also hasn’t had an athlete as clever and seamless as Adesanya, the best striker in the history of MMA with a global appeal that’s insurmountable!
Whether or not the slender Adesanya can one day prove as dangerous at the heavyweight championship is something to watch out for but we may never find out if he doesn’t get past Blachowicz first!
Who will be the next Light Heavyweight Champion? Catch the fight – Only on STARZPLAY and find out!
