Nigeria’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya will get about the biggest test of his career on March 6, when he moves up to the 205-pound division to face light heavyweight title holder, Jan Blachowicz, megasportsarena.com reports.
It will be a rare spectacle of champion versus champion when Adesanya goes out against the reigning UFC’ world light heavyweight title holder, who will put his belt on the line against the middleweight king, as ‘The Last Style Bender,’ who was born in Nigeria but now represents New Zealand, looks for a second mixed martial arts (MMA) diadem.
At UFC 253 back in December, Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title against top contender, Paulo Costa of Brazil and, earlier same night, Blachowicz registered one of 2020’s biggest upsets when he knocked out former title challenger, Dominick Reyes to claim the vacant light heavyweight belt.
In the days following UFC 253, rumors of a super fight between the two champions began to surface, following which Adesanya and Blachowicz both expressed strong desires for a historic clash, and ESPN columnist, Brett Okamoto has now announced via Twitter that UFC president, Dana White has confirmed the champion-versus-champion matchup.
Although UFC 259 does not yet have an official venue, the main card is set to be streamed live on ESPN+ pay-per-view within the last hours of March 6, as Blachowicz (27-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) have both agreed to clash.
It will be the UFC 259 headliner and potentially explosive one to watch, after White announced the news to his broadcast partner, ESPN, meaning Adesanya will have his chance to become a two-division champion, another major step forward for the Standout City Kickboxing stable lad, who shot to limelight when he dismissed Robert Whittaker in a title unification fight at UFC 243.
UFC officials also confirmed to MMA Fighting that a plan has been set in motion to escalate the weight of Adesanya up to 205 pounds to challenge Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title, in what will be the holder’s first defense after winning the vacant belt with a second-round win over Reyes at UFC 253.
After losing four of five fights between April 2015 and April 2017, Blachowicz went 8-1 in his last nine appearances and has won four straight, during which the 37-year-old fighter also boasts of stoppage wins over Corey Anderson and Luke Rockhold on the road to his first UFC title.
On the other hand, Adesanya is undefeated in 20 professional fights, including nine in a row in The Octagon, while “The Last Style Bender” won the interim middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in one of the best fights of 2019.
The 31-year-old Adesanya then successfully defended his title during two appearances in 2020, as he first defeated Yoel Romero by unanimous decision and then finished off Paulo Costa in a masterful performance at UFC 253, thereby setting the stage for a sumptuous night on March 6.
UFC writer, Santino Honasan enthused: “The Israel Adesanya-Jan Blachowicz bout is something that has been discussed as a legitimate possibility since October. Talks of the super fight gained traction in the coming weeks, with Dana White saying that Blachowicz was indeed the next fight for Adesanya.
“White however did not specify a date yet. Blachowicz had made it clear that he would not be fighting any earlier than March due to the birth of his child. With this announcement, fans now have another fight to look forward to in 2021.
“With UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz set to face off in 2021, the top contenders from their respective divisions will now have to wait a little bit longer for their opportunities at the title.
“In the 185-pound division ruled by Israel Adesanya, the current number one contender is former titleholder Robert Whittaker. Whittaker cemented his place as the next in line for the title with a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 254 back in October.
“Unless Adesanya can breeze through Blachowicz without taking any damage, Whittaker might have to wait until the second half of 2021 before he can think about getting his world title rematch. If he decides that he wants to compete before then, there are a host of options for him to face in the stacked middleweight division.”
