Jan Blachowicz took on Israel Adesanya back in March 2021 to defend his UFC light-heavyweight crown. While Blachowicz was marking his first-ever title defense, ‘Izzy’ was moving from middleweight to light-heavyweight in an attempt to become a two-division world champion.
Surprisingly, Jan Blachowicz emerged as an underdog even though he was the champion going into the fight. The Polish fighter came out on top with both men having a lot to prove come fight night at UFC 259. Israel Adesanya’s dream of becoming UFC’s fifth-ever double champion was halted by Blachowicz who put on a great performance to get the better of ‘Izzy’.
HERE’S TO THE UNDERDOGS 🏆 #UFC259 pic.twitter.com/5pvtTOpVXx
— UFC (@ufc) March 7, 2021
Jan Blachowicz took Israel Adesanya to the distance and won via unanimous decision. By this, he also became the first fighter ever to beat Adesanya in the UFC. Since then, the Polish fighter has gone on to lose his UFC light-heavyweight championship. On the flipside ‘The Last Stylebender’ went back to the middleweight division and further extended his title reign.
How did Jan Blachowicz beat Israel Adesanya?
Jan Blachowicz put on a masterful performance to beat Israel Adesanya in their UFC 259 clash. The Polish fighter’s bigger frame was seemingly put to use as he sized out the grappling exchanges. Moreover, the former 205-pound champion took advantage of Adesanya’s lack of wrestling acumen by putting him to the ground on multiple occasions.
The light heavyweight champ @JanBlachowicz with a nice sequence of his own 💪 @espnmma #UFC259 pic.twitter.com/vx0vzreJdK
— ESPN (@espn) March 7, 2021
Jan Blachowicz neutralized the leg kicks thrown at him by checking them and staying on the outside. Blachowicz was also able to successfully counter Adesanya’s jabs and out-landed the challenger.
Polish Power closed the show 🇵🇱💪
[ Full #UFC259 Fight Motion on https://t.co/YEBaVg1nsi ] pic.twitter.com/Deu3vfdhJ1
— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2021
While ‘The Last Stylebender’ also had his moments in the fight, it was Jan Blachowicz who looked more dominant throughout the fight. Israel Adesanya ended up being out-landed by Blachowicz by a ratio of 2:1. The final scorecards at the end of the fight read 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45 in favor of the Polish fighter.
