UFC 259: Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Jan Blachowicz (c)
The UFC fell in love with champ vs. champ fights the moment Conor McGregor finished Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205.
Since that 2016 meeting, the UFC has allowed the likes of Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo to try their hand at winning second titles. All were successful. Undefeated middleweight champion Israel Adesanya gets the next shot at champ-champ status, as he moves up in weight to take on the recently crowed Jan Blachowicz. It’s a fight that feels like a test run for a potential Adesanya vs. Jones super fight, although with Jones making his move to heavyweight, that may not be in the cards.
Still, Adesanya vs. Blachowicz will answer a lot of questions. And pose several others. Will “The Last Stylebender” be able to handle the “Polish Power” of Blachowicz, who hits like a Mack truck? Will his speed and creativity allow him to dance circles around a fighter expected to be a fair bit slower? And should he win the title, will Adesanya stick around 205lbs, hoping for bigger (literally and figuratively) fights, or move back to middleweight?
Adesanya is actually the favorite heading into this champ vs. champ battle. But Blachowicz has been overlooked before. Still, it’s hard not to see this as a GSP vs. Bisping situation. Blachowicz may be the perfect opponent for Adesanya to claim a second title against. As far as UFC 259 is concerned, the light heavyweight belt may be the one most likely to change hands.
Prediction: Adesanya conquers a second weight class
