| UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 6, 2021 (2021-03-06) | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 800,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at theUFC Apex facility inEnterprise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[3][4]
The event was headlined by aUFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then championJan Błachowicz (also formerKSW Light Heavyweight Champion) andUFC Middleweight ChampionIsrael Adesanya.[5] If successful, Adesanya would become the fourth man to be champion in two divisions simultaneously and fifth fighter overall (afterConor McGregor atUFC 205,Daniel Cormier atUFC 226,Amanda Nunes atUFC 232 andHenry Cejudo atUFC 238), as well as the eighth person overall to win a title in different divisions. This was the sixth time in UFC history that champions in different divisions fought for the same title, followingUFC 94,UFC 205,UFC 226,UFC 232 andUFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw.[6][7] Former title challengerGlover Teixeira served as backup and a potential replacement for this fight.[8][9]
AUFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the current championAmanda Nunes (also the currentUFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and formerInvicta FC Featherweight ChampionMegan Anderson served as the co-main event.[10] The pairing was initially scheduled forUFC 256, but Nunes pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed.[11]
AUFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current championPetr Yan andAljamain Sterling completed the triad of title fights.[12] They were also scheduled for UFC 256, but Yan pulled out due tovisa and travel issues, leading to the postponement.[13][14]
A flyweight bout between formerUFC Flyweight Championship challengerTim Elliott (alsoThe Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions flyweight winner) andJordan Espinosa was expected to take place atUFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar.[15] However, Espinosa tested positive for COVID-19 in late December and the pairing was moved to this event.[16]
A lightweight bout betweenIslam Makhachev andDrew Dober took place at this event.[17] They were previously scheduled to meet in April 2016 atUFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans, but the bout was scrapped after Makhachev failed an out-of-competition drug screening, testing positive for the banned anti-ischemicmeldonium.[18]
Randy Costa was expected to faceTrevin Jones in a bantamweight bout at the event.[19] However on February 16, Costa withdrew due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced byMario Bautista.[20][21]
At the weigh-ins,Askar Askarov weighed in at 127 pounds, one pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined a percentage of his individual purse, which went to his opponent, former flyweight title challengerJoseph Benavidez.[22]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Jan Błachowicz (c) | def. | Israel Adesanya | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–45, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Women’s Featherweight | Amanda Nunes (c) | def. | Megan Anderson | Submission (triangle armbar) | 1 | 2:03 | [b] |
| Bantamweight | Aljamain Sterling | def. | Petr Yan (c) | DQ (illegal knee) | 4 | 4:29 | [c] |
| Lightweight | Islam Makhachev | def. | Drew Dober | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 1:37 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Aleksandar Rakić | def. | Thiago Santos | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Dominick Cruz | def. | Casey Kenney | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Kyler Phillips | def. | Song Yadong | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (127 lb) | Askar Askarov | def. | Joseph Benavidez | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Kai Kara-France | def. | Rogério Bontorin | KO (punches) | 1 | 4:55 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Flyweight | Tim Elliott | def. | Jordan Espinosa | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–25) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Kennedy Nzechukwu | def. | Carlos Ulberg | KO (punches) | 2 | 3:19 | |
| Welterweight | Sean Brady | def. | Jake Matthews | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 3:28 | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Amanda Lemos | def. | Lívia Renata Souza | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:39 | |
| Lightweight | Uroš Medić | def. | Aalon Cruz | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:40 | |
| Bantamweight | Trevin Jones | def. | Mario Bautista | TKO (punches) | 2 | 0:40 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[24]
