March 6th, 2021 was a date that fight fans have had marked in their calendars for a while now and that was due in no small part to one of the most stacked UFC events in recent memory. With big names and high ranked fighters even on the prelims and three title bouts, UFC 259 promised to be one of the best events of the year before the first fight had even started.
What fans got were prelims that delivered from top to bottom with excitement but a main card that could wildly divide opinions based on your hopes and expectations going into the event.
Mixed results for legends on the Prelims:
While the main card justifiably was receiving major hype as soon as it was announced, the preliminary card was nothing to turn your nose up at.
After a wild one-round comeback KO by Flyweight Kai Kara-France, the stage was set for an encounter between two men who occupied top-five ranking spots in the 125-pound division as number three ranked Askar Askarov took on division mainstay Joseph Benavidez.
Askarov showed early why he boasted an undefeated record, throwing a body front kick from his lead leg that gave the Dagestani fighter early success. In the second round, Askarov would remind fight fans why recent years have seen Dagestani wrestling be one of the sports toughest puzzles to crack, throwing Benavidez to the ground multiple times from clinches against the fence and riding his leg to constantly try to take the former title-challenger’s back while racking up a considerable amount of ground control time in the process.
While the third round took place entirely on the feet, the Russian did not look any less comfortable, going back to the lead front body kick to open up Benavidez for his right hand from the southpaw stance, leaving his opponent sporting major swelling and a cut under his left eye.
After an incredibly composed performance, Askarov was rewarded with a unanimous decision victory via two scorecards of 30-27 and one of 30-26.
The following fight on the prelims would show Ultimate Fighter and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Kyler Phillips put on a skilled striking performance, including a stiff head kick that drew specific focus from the commentary team to score a unanimous decision victory over the resilient Chinese fighter Song Yadong. This being a victory that could well see Phillips break into the top 15 rankings of the division.
Then, in the featured preliminary bout of the night, arguably the greatest Bantamweight of all time Dominick Cruz was forced to try to halt the rise of one of the divisions top prospects, Casey Kenney.
The fabled footwork of “The Dominator” was on full display as Cruz was able to slip in and out of striking exchanges with Kenney and threaten with takedowns to keep the rising star guessing. Kenney was able to keep the fight competitive through two rounds, but Cruz’s swift feet left the Tucson fighter being much less active than his corner would have hoped for, especially in the opening frame.
Kenney would step up his aggression, but Cruz’s elusiveness proved to be the deciding factor as the former champion would end the fight with higher percentages for total and significant strikes landed, leaving Kenney exhausted as the clock ticked down to the final horn.
Cruz would put a stamp on the victory with a solid takedown that could have likely won him the fight as the judges scorecards came back with only a split decision victory for the future Hall of Famer.
Sterling awarded title after Yan foul:
The UFC’s Men’s Bantamweight division is one of the most talent-rich in the sport and the first title fight of UFC 259 was the perfect example of that as newly minted champion Petr Yan looked to defend against the undisputed top contender in the division, “Funkmaster” Aljamain Sterling.
Sterling came into this bout with an impressive rear-naked choke submission of fellow top-five contender Cory Sandhagen and made it no secret that he was looking to use his All-American level wrestling to snatch the title from the Russian, who is undefeated under the UFC banner.
“Funkmaster” began the fight being the early aggressor, throwing a pair of flying knees in the opening round with one appearing to land true on the side of the champion’s head. However, Yan would remain resolute and patient in his approach, landing the first takedown of the fight by sweeping Sterling’s leg after catching one of the challenger’s kicks. The Russian would find his shot with a right hand over the top of Sterling’s guard, dropping the challenger, Sterling would survive the round, however.
In round two, Daniel Cormier on commentary noted that Sterling’s frantic early pace wasn’t paying dividends as the champion’s defence was seemingly impenetrable and his patience was allowing him to take control of the fight. Contrary to pre-fight expectations, it was Yan who was being efficient with his wrestling and takedowns, moving out of the way of Sterling’s heavier attacks and tripping him. Yan was hesitant to go to the ground with Sterling however, allowing referee Mark Smith to continuously force the challenger to stand up and reengage.
The third round showed Yan beginning to pull away with Sterling noticeably fatiguing. The champion was able to telegraph whenever Sterling would change his levels to look for a takedown and then land one of his own. Yan was also subtly switching his stance to provide Sterling with different looks and keep him guessing on the feet.
What was looking to become a dominant title defence for the champion was lost in the fourth round however, as following a grappling sequence, Sterling was on one knee with Yan standing over him. The champion would then land a knee that immediately forced the referee to stop the fight as knees to the head of an opponent that is considered on the ground are illegal in the UFC.
As Mark Smith warned the champion about the illegal strike before he landed it, the foul was ruled as intentional and after Aljamain Sterling was not allowed to continue after being evaluated by the ringside doctor, he was awarded the championship via disqualification.
Amongst the post-fight confusion, the commentary team speculated on whether there was a communication error with Yan’s corner that led to him throwing the illegal strike, with UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov saying that he heard one of Yan’s cornermen confirming that he could throw the strike. Aljamain Sterling, however, was extremely unhappy with the decision, throwing the championship to the ground after being awarded with it.
Nunes completely shuts out Anderson:
In the co-main event, the greatest female fighter of all time Amanda Nunes was matched up with arguably her most physically imposing challenger yet in Megan Anderson. Post-fight the contest was described by Cormier and Rogan on commentary as a “non-event” and it’s not hard to see why.
Nunes seemingly shook Anderson with the first strike she threw and from that point it was one-way traffic, “The Lioness” continued to land and hurt her opponent and soon Anderson was forced to shoot for a takedown.
The champion was able to deny the takedown and almost immediately latched onto an armbar, forcing Anderson to tap out with just over two minutes gone.
The victory typically left the MMA world stunned at the ease at which Amanda dealt with Megan’s size, but the challenger did not look ready for the challenge of facing Nunes, she looked visibly intimidated and Nunes herself questioned if she was ready to become a champion in her post-fight press conference.
The victory leaves a lot of questions surrounding the women’s 145-pound division with there still not being any rankings listed, it feels like any given fight in the division can lead to the victor being given an immediate title opportunity, an environment that may lead to more ill-prepared challengers and easy defences that could potentially harm the legacy of ‘The Lioness’ amongst fans.
It certainly doesn’t help the fact that the commentary team was questioning who was next in the division and explicitly saying that the division is done. Nunes and UFC President Dana White were not so quick to write off the division with Dana saying that the division will run as long as the champ wants to keep defending her title.
Jan out wrestles Izzy to retain gold:
The main event saw UFC Middleweight champion Isreal Adesanya vying to become only the fifth fighter in UFC history to hold championships in two weight classes simultaneously, but he was faced with a tough task to accomplish that feat in the Polish power of UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
The early stages of the bout were encouraging for fans of the ‘Last Stylebender’, with the Middleweight champion keeping the Pole out of boxing range and landing leg kicks in an attempt to stunt the movement of Blachowicz.
The opening two rounds felt very much like they were taking place on Adesanya’s terms with Blachowicz not pressing his undersized opponent towards the cage and grappling him. Adesanya was controlling the octagon and Blachowicz would periodically throw a combination that the challenger would avoid before Blachowicz would back off again.
The third round was where the action started to open up as Jan was finally able to press the challenger up against the cage and after throwing a flying knee, the Pole was able to take his opponent to the ground momentarily and looked to try to take his back to secure a choke. Adesanya was able to escape however and landed a stiff left hook in the ensuing exchange.
‘Stylebender’ continued to try to pick his opponent apart but as soon as he pressed the defending champion up against the cage, Blachowicz was able to reverse the position and engage in a clinch, before strikes from Adesanya forced him to retreat.
The later stages of the round saw both fighters land effectively with their respective jabs, with Blachowicz landing one of his bigger strikes in the fight to that point with a left hook finding its mark as Adesanya looked for a jab-straight combination.
The corner of the Light Heavyweight champion was clearly pushing for more grappling from their fighter as almost immediately in the fourth, Blachowicz was able to push Adesanya up against the fence and threaten for a single-leg takedown. The Nigerian-born challenger was able to thwart his attempt but Blachowicz was able to land a solid right hook as he broke away from the grappling exchange.
With three minutes left in the round, Blachowicz was able to land his first definitive takedown of the night and it was clear that he was trying to grind Adesanya down and exhaust him, utilising his vast weight advantage as while the fight took place at Light Heavyweight, Blachowicz claimed that he may have weighed upwards of 220lbs in the cage following his weight cut while Adesanya in his post-fight press conference claimed he may have weighed approximately 199lbs on the day.
The weight advantage of the champion gave Adesanya plenty of problems as despite his best efforts, he was not able to get back to his feet for the rest of the fourth round, giving Blachowicz his first distinctly won round in the fight.
The fifth and final round would almost mirror the one that preceded it as Blachowicz used Adesanya’s unconventional movement against him, waiting until the challenger was leaning backwards away from an exchange and then shooting for a takedown that again left ‘Stylebender’ struggling.
Blachowicz would close out the round on top and would secure a unanimous decision victory. While there were no questions that Blachowicz deserved to win the bout, two of the three judges questionably scored the fight 49-45, giving the Pole a usually rare 10-8 round in the process.
The scores predictably drew the ire of Dana White who in his post-fight press conference lambasted the judges for giving out a 10-8 round when Adesanya was not thoroughly dominated in any round as 10-8 rounds are usually awarded when a certain fighter completely dictates that particular round and potentially comes close to finishing the fight.
Either way, the victory gives Blachowicz his first defence of his UFC Light Heavyweight championship and pours ice-cold water on any conversation of a rumoured super fight between Adesanya and Jon Jones and while the bout may not have been the brawl that fans may have hoped for, besting Adesanya in a patient and technical mixed martial arts bout and giving the Middleweight champion his first loss is a major feather in the cap for the pride of Poland.
What’s next?
The UFC’s next offering is a Fight Night card a week from tonight, headlined by Welterweight contender Leon Edwards taking on Belal Muhammad, who stepped in to replace Khamzat Chimaev after he pulled out of the fight and retired due to conditions still affecting him after a battle with COVID-19.
The promotions next pay-per-view offering may not boast three title matches but the main card could provide similar fireworks as it features Tyron Woodley and Sean O’Malley vying to bounce back from losses in their last respective fights against tough opposition, a Featherweight title bout between champion Alexander Volkanovski and the always-exciting Brian Ortega and UFC 260 is headlined by the rematch between the consensus greatest Heavyweight of all time in UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and the man with the heaviest hands in the sports history, Francis Ngannou. The bout between Miocic and Ngannou could also decide the next opponent of Jon Jones, who is in the process of making his long-awaited transition to the Heavyweight division after a near-decade of dominance at 205lbs.
In regard to the controversy in the Bantamweight title bout, Dana White said in the post-fight press conference that there will be an immediate rematch between Yan and Sterling, and it will be booked as soon as possible.
In terms of the next opponent for Amanda Nunes, White voiced his intentions to book Nunes for her next bout to defend her Women’s Bantamweight title quickly due to the relative ease and lack of damage sustained in her bout. Her opponent is not clear however as a bout between contenders Julianna Pena and Holly Holm has fallen through after Holm pulled out due to injury. Pena was very active on social media calling for a bout with ‘The Lioness’ but the champ was not quick to grant her wishes in her post-fight conference, suggesting that Pena needs to avenge her 2020 loss to perennial contender Germaine de Randamie before she can get a title bout.
And as for the status of the two men that competed in the main event, Isreal Adesanya confirmed that his shot at the Light Heavyweight strap was a one-off and that he is going to go back to Middleweight to defend his championship following his loss, while Jan Blachowicz was quick to claim that number one ranked Glover Teixeira is the most deserving of being his next challenger.
Full Card Results:
Main card
Light Heavyweight – Jan Blachowicz (c) def. Isreal Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Women’s Featherweight – Amanda Nunes (c) def. Megan Anderson via Submission (Triangle armbar, Round 1 – 2:03)
Men’s Bantamweight – Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan (c) via Disqualification (Round 4 – 4:29)
Lightweight – Islam Makhachev def. Drew Dober via Submission (Arm-triangle choke, Round 3 – 1:37)
Light Heavyweight Aleksandar Rakic def. Thiago Santos via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary card
Men’s Bantamweight – Dominick Cruz def. Casey Kenney via Split Decision
Men’s Bantamweight – Kyler Phillips def. Song Yadong via Unanimous Decision
Catchweight (127lbs) – Askar Askarov def. Joseph Benavidez via Unanimous Decision
Men’s Flyweight – Kai Kara-France def. Rogerio Bontorin via KO (Round 1 – 4:55)
Early preliminary card
Men’s Flyweight – Tim Elliott def. Jordan Espinosa via Unanimous Decision
Light Heavyweight – Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carlos Ulberg via KO (Round 2 – 3:19)
Welterweight – Sean Brady def. Jake Matthews via Submission (Arm-triangle choke, Round 3 – 3:28)
Women’s Strawweight – Amanda Lemos def. Livia Renata Souza via TKO (Round 1 – 3:39)
Lightweight – Uros Medic def. Aalon Cruz via TKO (Round 1 – 1:40)
Men’s Bantamweight – Trevin Jones def. Mario Bautista via TKO (Round 2 – 0:47)
The Inbound Observer 