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Adesanya eyes double belt holders list against Blachowicz

 

Nigerian New Zealander Israel Adesanya will attempt to become only the fifth man to reign two UFC divisions simultaneously when he challenges Jan Blachowicz.

The current middleweight king steps up to light-heavyweight on March 6, headlining UFC 259.

Conor McGregor became the first fighter to hold two belts at the same time, with Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo following.

But Adesanya will have his work cut out by Pole puncher Blachowicz, who has lost just once in his last nine fights.

He joined the UFC in 2018, six years after turning pro in MMA, having had a world title winning kickboxing career beforehand.

Immediately Adesanya’s elusive, switch-hitting style and eye-catching striking made him a fan-favourite.

But his performances backed up the hype and in 2019 the New Zealander beat UFC icon Anderson Silva.

Just two months later he knocked out Kelvin Gastelum in a thrilling fight of the night to win the interim belt.

It set him up with a blockbuster undisputed title decider with Robert Whittaker which sold a UFC record 57,000 tickets.

Adesanya lived up to the history-making occasion by emphatically stopping Whittaker in two rounds.

Blachowicz was a champion in his homeland with European promotion KSW before he signed for the UFC in 2014.

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But he got off to a hit-and-miss start in America, losing four of his first six bouts.

Blachowicz’s form turned around in 2017 when he beat Devin Clark by submission, setting up a four-fight win streak.He was then beaten by Thiago Santos in 2019, his last defeat to date.

Thanks to another four wins on the spin, against the likes of Luke Rockhold, ‘Jacare’ Souza and Corey Anderson, Blachowicz was handed his first UFC title shot.

 

 

 

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