Israel Adesanya’s meteoric rise to UFC superstardom hit a rather large obstacle Saturday night.
Jan Blachowicz beat the previously undefeated Adesanya by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 49-45) to retain his light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 259.
Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, was attempting to become just the fifth fighter in UFC history to hold two titles concurrently.
UFC 259 took place with COVID-19 protocols in place inside the UFC Apex, a facility across the street from the promotion’s corporate campus.