Welcome to Fightful.com's results, live coverage and discussion for UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya.
We will bring you full, fight-by-fight coverage of the main card, plus quick results for tonight's preliminary bouts. Scroll down to the Disqus boards below and chat with fellow MMA fans during the event.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View, 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT)
Jan Blachowicz (C) def. Israel Adesanya (C) via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-46)
Amanda Nunes (C) def. Megan Anderson by submission via armbar (2:03, R1)
Aljamain Sterling (No.1) def. Petr Yan (C) via DQ (Yan illegal knee to a downed opponent)
Islam Makhachev (No. 14) def. Drew Dober by submission via arm-triangle (1:37, R3)
Aleksandar Rakic (No. 4) def. Thiago Santos (No. 2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims (ESPN, 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT)
Dominick Cruz (No. 11) def. Casey Kenney via split-decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Kyler Phillips def. Song Yadong (No. 14) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Askar Askarov (No. 3) def. Joseph Benavidez (No. 2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Kai Kara-France (No. 9) def. Rogerio Bontorin (No. 8) via TKO (4:55, R1)
Early Prelims (ESPN+, 5:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. PT)
Tim Elliott (No. 12) def. Jordan Espinosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carlos Ulberg via TKO (3:19. R2)
Sean Brady def. Jake Matthews by submission via arm-triangle (3:28, R3)
Amanda Lemos def. Livia Renata Souza (No. 15) via TKO (3:39, R2)
Uros Medic def. Aalon Cruz via TKO (1:30, R1)
Trevin Jones def. Mario Bautista via TKO (0:47, R2)
***Continue below for play-by-play coverage once the main card begins***
Jan Blachowicz (C) vs. Israel Adesanya (C)
Round One: The UFC light heavyweight championship is on the line with champion Jan Blachowicz defending his title against the UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya who's looking to become the promotion's fifth simultaneous two-weight world champion. After introductions from ring announcer Bruce Buffer and final instructions from referee Herb Dean, the main event of the evening is underway. Adesanya opens up the action with a kick to Blachowicz's lead leg that finds a home. Blachowicz then lands a lead leg kick of his own. Adesanya throws a head kick that's blocked by the champion. Blachowicz lands a left hook to the body of Adesanya and follows it up with a jab to the body followed up by a lead leg kick. Blachowicz throws a heavy head kick that's blocked by Adesanya. Blachowicz lands a kick to the body then just gets out of the way of a head kick from Adesanya. Blachowicz throws a front kick that just misses as the buzzer sounds and the opening frame comes to a close.
Round Two: Round number two opens up with Adesanya just getting out of the way of a right hook from Blachowicz. Adesanya gets cracked with a left hook and a body kick from Blachowicz that surely gets the attention of the challenger. Blachowicz rushes towards Adesanya but can't find the left hook attempt to land. Adesanya throws a body kick but Blachowicz catches it and throws him to the mat for a brief moment and Adesanya is able to get back to the feet. A front kick to the body from Blachowicz finds a home and Adesanya lands a kick a bit too low on Blachowicz that forces referee Herb Dean to briefly pause the bout. Blachowicz gives the OK and Herb Dean allows the fight to resume. Blachowicz partially lands a left hook and follows it up with a lead leg kick that lands and the buzzer sounds to end round number two.
Round Three: The third round is underway and Blachowicz just misses a left hook to open up the action. Blachowicz lands a right hook abnd a straight left to the body and takes down Adesanya but just for a moment as Adesanya gets back to his feet, where he stuns Blachowicz with a let hook before eating a straight left in response from Blachowicz, who initiates a clinch and has Adesanya pressed against the fence. Adesanya lands a knee to the body and is able to roll off the fence and circle back to the center of the octagon. Blachowicz lands a kick to the body of Adesanya and follows it up with a left jab that finds it's mark. Blachowicz latches onto Adesanya and gets the fight against the cage for a brief moment before circling back to the center of the octagon where Blachowicz lands a pair of jabs as the round comes to an end.
Round Four: The championship rounds are underway and Blachowicz initiates the clinch and gets Adesanya pressed against the fence but the pair get back to the center of the octagon. Blachowicz drills Adesanya with a right hook that stops the challenger in his tracks. Blachowicz lands a nice kick to the body but Adesanya counters with a right hook that lands. Blachowicz lands a perfectly timed takedown and has over three minutes to work. Blachowicz lands a couple shots of ground and pound and settles into half guard. Blachowicz transitions to side control and lands a few more shots of ground and pound before separating a bit and lands a pretty heavy right hand. Blachowicz rides out the rest of the round in side control as the buzzer sounds and we're heading into the fifth and final round.
Round Five: The fifth and final round is underway and Blachowicz lands a few short jabs to open it up. Blachowicz lands another pair of jabs but Adesanya responds with an overhand right that finds it's home. Blachowicz drills Adesanya with a left hook to the body and lands a perfectly timed takedown with over two minutes left in the fight. Blachowicz lands a few shots of ground and pound and again settles into half guard with about 45 seconds remaining in the bout. Blachowicz reigns down hammer fists as the buzzer sounds and this one is headed to the judge's scorecards.
Result - Jan Blachowicz (C) def. Israel Adesanya (C) via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 48-47)
Amanda Nunes (C) vs. Megan Anderson
Round One: The consensus best female fighter in MMA history Amanda Nunes is set to defend one of her two titles against the power-puncher Megan Anderson. After introductions from ring announcer Bruce Buffer, final instructions from referee Jason Herzog and a touch of the gloves, this UFC women's featherweight championship bout is officially underway. Nunes opens the action with a lighting quick lead leg kick to Anderson. Nunes lands a right hook that gets the attention of Anderson and lands another that wobbles the challenger. Nunes stings Anderson with another right hook and gets the fight to mat and gets back control. Nunes quickly locks-in an arm-bar and Anderson taps. Another fantastic performance from the greatest of all-time.
Result - Amanda Nunes (C) def. Megan Anderson by submission via armbar (2:03, R1)
Petr Yan (C) vs. Aljamain Sterling (No. 1)
Round One: The first of three title fights is underway as the UFC bantamweight title is on the line with champion Petr Yan defending his title against top contender Aljamain Sterling. After introductions from legendary ring announcer Bruce Buffer and final instructions from referee Marc Smith and this one is officially underway. Sterling lands a nice front kick to the body of Yan and follows it up with a kick to Yan's lead leg. Sterling lands another front kick and teases a level change before landing yet another front kick to the Yan's midsection. Yan drills Sterling with a body kick of his own before Yan catches another kick attempt and tosses Sterling to the mat before letting him back up. Sterling partially lands a flying knee and goes for a level change and this time is successful in dragging Yan to the mat. Yan quickly gets back to his feet and clinches up with Sterling against the fence. Yan lands a right hook out of the clinch and then sends Sterling to the mat with a vicious straight right but Sterling gets back to his feet. Yan trips Sterling up and lands a hammer fist before allowing Sterling back to his feet. Yan again trips Sterling up and lands on top but backs away and lets Sterling back up before drilling him with a side kick to the body. Yan clinches Sterling and turns him around and suplexes him to the mat but Sterling lands on top and the pair get back to their feet before the buzzer sounds and a wild opening round comes to a close.
Round Two: The second round begins with Sterling fainting a takedown and just misses a right hook. Sterling shoots for another takedown but is stymied by Yan, who begins to lay into Sterling's legs with some kicks before referee Marc Smith calls for Sterling to get back to his feet. Sterling immediately goes for a double leg but Yan stuffs it and the pair end up clinched against the fence. Sterling gets Yan to the mat but the champion immediately gets back to his feet. Sterling lands a few jabs to the body of Yan before clinching Yan back up against fence. Both men angle for positioning against the fence and Sterling lands a nice right elbow as the pair circle back to the center of the octagon. Sterling lands a pair of jabs and partially lands a knee to Yan's face but Yan trips him ip and ends up taking Sterling's back but Sterling powers back to his feet as the buzzer sounds and the second frame comes to an end.
Round Three: The third round commences and Sterling lands a pair of kicks to the body of Yan to open the action. Yan lands a left hook to Sterling's body and follows it up with a right hook to the body. Yan stings Sterling with a left jab but eats a right jab from Sterling in return. Yan lands a straight left and trips Sterling to the mat but he allows Sterling back to his feet. Sterling just moves out of the way of a Yan head kick and Sterling gets the fight against the fence inside of the clinch. Yan pushes Sterling off and to the mat and lands a few heavy hammer fists to a downed Sterling. Yan starts chewing up Sterling's legs with a bevy of kicks then allows Sterling back to the feet. Sterling shoots for a double leg but is again stuffed by Yan. Sterling lands a pair of lead leg kicks before Yan is able to secure a takedown to close out the third round and this one is heading to championship rounds.
Round Four: Championship rounds are underway and Sterling just misses a head kick and Yan trips him to the mat. Yan lands a few kicks to Sterling's legs before letting him back to his feet. Sterling lands a few uppercuts to Yan's body and gets a leg kick checked by Yan. Sterling lands a step-in elbow but eats a heavy leg kick from Yan for his troubles. Sterling latches onto Yan and gets him against the fence but Yan lands a spinning elbow to get out of the clinch. Sterling misses a spinning back kick and Yan drills him with a straight left. Yan lands a knee to Sterling's body and stuffs yet another takedown attempt from the challenger. Yan lands a straight left and appears to be finding his range on Sterling. Yan stuffs another Sterling takedown but absolutely nails Sterling with a knee to the face but Sterling was downed and referee Marc Smith steps-in to pause the bout and check on Sterling after the illegal knee. Smith brings in the doctor and they wave off the fight. Petr Yan will be disqualified and Aljamain Sterling will become the UFC bantamweight champion.
Result - Aljamain Sterling (No.1) def. Petr Yan (C) via DQ (Yan illegal knee to a downed opponent)
Islam Makhachev (No. 14) vs. Drew Dober
Round One: The second biggest betting favorite on the card in Islam Makhachev looks to make the jump from the "future" to a true contender and Drew Dober looks to play spoiler. After introductions this one is officially underway. Makhachev opens the action with a kick to Dober's lead leg. Makhachev immediately shoots for a takedown and successfully gets Dober to the mat. Makhachev lands a few shots of ground and pound and attempts to transition to full mount, which he does. Makhachev gets to side control and lands a scrapping elbow across the bridge of Dober's nose. Dober explodes trying to get to his feet, Islam almost gets his back but Dober rolls back to near safety. Makhachev sneaks in a nasty looking arm-bar attempt but Dober scrambles and ends up in top control but the buzzer sounds and the opening round comes to a close.
Round Two: The second round begins and Makhachev immediately goes for and gets a takedown. Makhachev clasps his hands together under Dober and begins to work for top mount but Dober scoots to the cage in an attempt to avoid just that. Makhachev drags Dober off the fence and begins to work in some ground and pound. Makhachev trades off with body and head strikes and briefly stands up to drop in another few shots with a bit more leverage. Makhachev lands a few more shots of gorund and pound as the buzzer sounds and we're headed to the third and final round.
Round Three: The final frame is underway, Makhachev lands a knee to the body of Dober and takes him right back to the mat with over four-minutes to work. Dober needs a miracle submission or to get back to the feet and knock Makhachev out to steal a victory. Makhachev locks-in an arm-triangle out of nowhere and gets Dober to tap.
Result - Islam Makhachev (No. 14) def. Drew Dober by submission via arm-triangle (1:37, R3)
Thiago Santos (No. 2) vs. Aleksandar Rakic (No. 4)
Round One: The opening fight of the main card is underway between a pair of light heavyweight power-punchers in the form of Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic. Both men aren't in any rush to start the action and are stalled out in a bit of a feeling out process. Rakic opens the action with a kick to the body and Santos counters with a kick of his own. Santos launches a massive overhand right that narrowly misses and Rakic counters with a pair of kicks to the body that find a home. Rakic throws a wild kick to the head but Santos is able to duck out of the way. Santos lands a heavy kick to the lead leg of Rakic and goes for a wild flying knee as the buzzer sounds and the round comes to a close.
Round Two: Round number two is underway and Rakic partially lands a left hook and drills Santos with a side kick to the body. Santos throws and misses a pair of left hooks, Rakic gets out of the way of the second hook and latches onto Santos and presses him against the fence in the clinch. Rakic lands a couple shots to the body but Santos explodes off the fence and circles back to the octagon. Rakic lands an overhand right that's clearly the biggest shot of the fight, thus far and this time Rakic is the one to throw a wild flying knee as the buzzer sounds to end the round.
Round Three: The final frame gets underway and Rakic gets Santos right up against the fence but Santos is able to circle back to center of the octagon. Santos lands a straight left to the body of Rakic. Santos narrowly misses a left hook and Rakic gets up against the fence yet again. Rakic lands a few shoulder strikes to the chin of Santos before the latter is able to burst out of the clinch and get back to the center of the octagon but there's no time to work as the buzzer sounds and this one is going to the judge's scorecards.
Result - Aleksandar Rakic (No. 4) def. Thiago Santos (No. 2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
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