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Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
On Saturday night at UFC 259, UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz silenced the doubters, winning a competitive decision over middleweight champion and rising superstar Israel Adesanya. Coming into the bout, there were a number of questions about the legitimacy of Blachowicz’s title and his prospects of holding onto the belt. Now there can be none. Jan Blachowicz is the rightful king of the light heavyweight division and the man deserves his respect.
It’s easy to dismiss Blachowicz’s late-career renaissance as little more than smoke and mirrors. After all, in his run to the title, Blachowicz faced a pair of middleweights, Corey Anderson, and Dominick Reyes. It was a solid stretch, but it’s hardly the stuff legends are made of. Yes, he had the fun “Legendary Polish Power” schtick, but this is a man who had one TKO in his previous 11 UFC bouts. Clearly that was more about branding than truth
UFC 259 Medical Suspensions: Israel Adesanya Faces Lengthy Layoff
Following last weekend’s UFC 259 event, the medical suspensions have now been released.
The most notable suspension on the list is that of reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who will be sidelined for six months unless his left foot and ankle are cleared by a doctor. Megan Anderson is also facing a six-month suspension pending clearance of her right elbow and nose. Additionally, Aleksandar Rakic and Jordan Espinoza could be out for the same length of time for injuries sustained during their UFC 259 bouts.
In some good news, a rematch between new bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yanafter their controversial DQ finish will not have any major medical obstacles, as Sterling is only facing a suspension of three months maximum.
“Never let a win go to your head, or a loss get to your heart,” Dober wrote. “I gave it my all and I’m not disappointed in my efforts. I got out grappled by the best in the world and I will take this failure to become a better fighter and a man.
“All respect to @islam makhachev, his team, and all of the fans,” Dober continued. “I truly enjoyed this experience and I cannot wait to do it again. Back to the gym to fix those mistakes.”
Prior to his loss to Makhachev, Drew Dober was on an impressive, three-fight win-streak composed of stoppage wins over Alexander Hernandez, Nasrat Haqparast, and Polo Reyes. Those wins were preceded by a submission loss to Beneil Dariush. Other highlights of Dober’s impressive record include wins over Frank Camacho, Josh Burkman, Scott Holtzman and Jamie Varner.
Here are the passes and fails for UFC 259, where Jan Blachowicz successfully defended his title against Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes dispatched yet another contender and the bantamweight title fight changed hands following an illegal knee.