Blachowicz defeats Adesanya to retain light heavyweight belt

Jan Blachowicz successfully defended his UFC light heavyweight title after beating Israel Adesanya by a unanimous decision at UFC 259 in Las Vegas.

Judges voted 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45 in favor of the Pole, who was the underdog going in to the bout, after a very consistent performance throughout.

In the first round, Adesanya was very mobile, trying to throw his opponent off in any way he could. He came out with low kicks, kicks to the head, body punches and punches to the head, while Blachowicz was more conservative throwing only a few powerful punches, according to Marca.

In the second round, Blachowicz closed in on his opponent and managed to connect with more punches, both to the head and body. Adesanya continued with his varied strategy of attack that he used in the opening exchanges.