Blachowicz halts Adesanya's perfect run

LOS ANGELES • Jan Blachowicz upset the odds with a grinding unanimous points decision over previously unbeaten Israel Adesanya to retain his world light heavyweight title at UFC 259 in Las Vegas yesterday.

"If I had knocked him out, it would have been better, but anyways, I love this win because he is one of the best in the world," said the 38-year-old Polish fighter after the judges scored it 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45 in his favour.

It was the first defeat inflicted on the 31-year-old Adesanya, who was stepping up in weight for the first time, in his 21-fight career.

The New Zealander, who is also the middleweight title-holder, was aiming to become only the fifth double-weight world champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) history.

The Nigeria-born fighter found the step up in weight difficult to handle, especially when his opponent drew him into clinches and down on the mat late in the bout.

Blachowicz, who has a 28-8 record, only really became a contender after passing the age of 35 and had also been the underdog when he won the vacant title last year against American Dominick Reyes.

"I thought that he would be a little bit faster but he hit harder than I thought," said Blachowicz, who has spent his career being underestimated, after a successful first defence of the title.

"I knew that if I took him down, I'm bigger, stronger a little bit, so I would be better on the ground. I just had to wait for a good moment."

Adesanya brushed off his loss as a "bad day in the gym" and while he will be dropping back down to middleweight for his next fight, he vowed to return to light heavyweight in the future, claiming the Blachowicz match-up was not a "one-off".

"Back to the drawing board," he added.

There were two other world title fights on the card but no fans in attendance due to Covid-19 protocols. The opening championship fight made history when Russian Petr Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee to the head against American challenger Aljamain Sterling, who was deemed the winner - the first time a UFC title has changed hands in that fashion.

Brazil's Amanda Nunes strengthened her claim to be the greatest female fighter of all time when she forced a first-round submission from Australian Megan Anderson.

The 32-year-old featherweight champion - who also holds the UFC bantamweight belt - is unbeaten in her past 12 fights dating back to 2014, and recently became a mother for the first time.

"You know they say a lion is always dangerous but when she has a baby you can't stop her, ever," she said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE