Israel Adesanya will have a chance to become UFC champion in two divisions in March.
UFC directors on Wednesday confirmed to MMA Fighting a plan for Adesanya, the current middleweight champion, to jump up to 93kg to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the UFC 259 light heavyweight title. ESPN initially reported the news.
UFC 259 takes place on March 6 at a venue and venue yet to be announced and will air live on ESPN + pay-per-view.
Blachowicz tries his first title defense after winning the vacant title with a submission in Dominick Reyes’ second round at UFC 253. After losing four out of five between April 2015 and April 2017, Blachowicz went 8-1 in his last nine appearances and won four straight. The 37-year-old fighter also beat Corey Anderson and Luke Rockhold on the chart for his first UFC title.
UFC middleweight champion Adesanya is undefeated in 20 professional fights, including nine in a row in the octagon. “The Last Stylebender” won the provisional middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in one of the best fights of 2019. The highlight of City Kickboxing became the undisputed champion when he eliminated Robert Whittaker in a fight for unification of the title in UFC UFC 243.
The 31-year-old successfully defended his title in two appearances in 2020, defeating Yoel Romero by unanimous decision and submitting Paulo Costa in a masterful performance at UFC 253.