![]() We reached out to some of the top MMA writers, reporters and editors around the world to see how they envision the three championship fights to unfold at UFC 259. Nunes has been the UFC’s bantamweight champion since 2016, and she added the featherweight strap in late 2018. The fight was Nunes’ first since her wife, fellow UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, gave birth to their first child. Nunes (21-4) handled her second featherweight title defense with her usual flair, making short work of her Australian challenger while extending her winning streak to 12 fights since 2014.Īfter peppering Anderson (11-5) with strikes, Nunes jumped on her off-balance challenger and worked her way into a triangle armbar, forcing Anderson to tap out quickly. I was trying to continue, but I was in bad shape.” “Everything I worked for to this point, and to have the fight go like that,” a teary-eyed Sterling said afterward. Sterling threw the belt onto the canvas before he left the octagon. Sterling (20-3) appeared disoriented and disappointed when the belt was wrapped around his waist after a fight he appeared to be losing. The bout was called off by referee Mark Smith, who had verbally warned Yan not to throw such a strike a few seconds earlier. Mixed martial arts rules strictly prohibit such blows to a downed opponent, and the knee clearly hurt Sterling, who struggled and failed to get up for several minutes. The fight was stopped with 31 seconds left in the fourth when Yan (15-2) drove his knee into the face of Sterling, who was kneeling on the canvas in front of him. The much-anticipated slate of three title fights at UFC 259 got off to a bizarre start when Yan’s inexplicable rules violation handed the 135-pound title to Sterling. Adesanya, the charismatic Nigerian-born New Zealander, failed to join Nunes, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo as the UFC’s only simultaneous two-belt champions. ![]() The Polish champion turned their fight with two huge takedowns and subsequent ground control in the fourth and fifth rounds.īlachowicz ended the fight in full mount while raining down punches on Adesanya, who had never lost in a mixed martial arts career that began in 2012. The 38-year-old Blachowicz (28-8) made his first title defense after weathering an impressive start by Adesanya (20-1), the fearsome middleweight champion moving up for a shot at history. Two-division champion Amanda Nunes then defended her featherweight belt with ease, beating Megan Anderson by submission 2:03 into the first round at the Apex facility on the UFC’s corporate campus. LAS VEGAS - Jan Blachowicz defended his UFC light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 on Saturday night, thwarting Adesanya’s bid to hold two championship belts simultaneously.Īljamain Sterling also won the UFC’s bantamweight title when Petr Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee strike in the fourth round. ![]() (Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) ![]()
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