Barring a draw, one of two things will happen in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 259 pay-per-view card — a fighter’s 20-fight winning streak will end, or that fighter will become a two-division UFC champion.
In the headlining contest of UFC 259, UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz puts his title on the line against unbeaten middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya is 20-0 as a pro. He joined the UFC in 2018. In his sixth fight with the promotion, Adesanya defeated Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim middleweight crown. A few months later, Adesanya unified the 185-pound titles with a knockout win over Robert Whittaker. Adesanya has defended the title twice. His most recent win was a September TKO victory over Paulo Costa.
Blachowicz started his UFC career on a rough run. In his first six fights with the promotion, Blachowicz put together a 2-4 record. He righted the ship in 2017. In his past nine fights, Blachowicz has gone 8-1. The biggest win of his career came in September when he captured the vacant light heavyweight title with a TKO win over Dominick Reyes. Blachowicz puts his belt on the line for the first time when he faces Adesanya.
Blachowicz vs. Adesanya headlines UFC 259, which takes place March 6 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view card streams on ESPN+.
Below is a look at where the two fighters appear in the UFC record book ahead of UFC 259.
UFC 259: Jan Balchowicz vs. Israel Adesanya
| Jan Blachowicz | Israel Adesanya |
|---|---|
| Jan Blachowicz | Israel Adesanya |
| Overall UFC records | Overall UFC records |
| Adesanya is tied for 10th in UFC history with a nine-fight winning streak | |
| Overall UFC light heavyweight records | Overall UFC middleweight records |
| Blachowicz is tied for 10th in the UFC light heavyweight division with 15 fights | Adesanya is tied for second in the UFC middleweight division with a nine-fight winning streak |
| Blachowicz is tied for ninth in the UFC light heavyweight division with 10 wins | Adesanya is tied for second in the UFC middleweight division with four title fight wins |
| Blachowicz is tied for seventh in the UFC light heavyweight division with six finishes | Adesanya is tied for third in the UFC middleweight division with seven fight night bonuses |
| Blachowicz is tied for ninth in the UFC light heavyweight division with four decision wins | Adesanya ranks first in longest average fight time in the UFC middleweight divsion at 15:07 |
| Blachowicz is tied for fifth in the UFC light heavyweight division with six fight night bonuses | Adesanya ranks third in the UFC middleweight divsion with 11 knockdowns landed |
| Blachowicz ranks 10th in the UFC light heavyweight division in total fight time at 2:57:43 | Adesanya is tied for ninth in the UFC middleweight division with 1.21 knockdowns averaged per 15 minutes |
| Blachowicz is tied for eighth in the UFC light heavyweight division with six knockdowns landed | Adesanya ranks ninth in the UFC middleweight divsion with a striking differential of plus 1.77 |
| Blachowicz ranks ninth in the UFC light heavyweight division with 621 significant strikes landed | Adesanya ranks sixth in the UFC middleweight divsion with a significant striking defense of 65.2 percent |
| Blachowicz ranks second in the UFC light heavyweight division with aa takedown accuracy of 52 percent | Adesanya ranks second in the UFC middleweight divsion with a takedown defense of 86.5 percent |
| UFC light heavyweight single fight records | UFC middleweight single fight records |
| Adesanya is tied for first with four knockdowns landed in one UFC middleweight bout vs. Kelvin Gastelum on 4-13-19 | |
| Adesanya is tied for third with three knockdowns landed in one UFC middleweight bout vs. Derek Brunson on 11-3-18 | |
| Adesanya ranks fifth with a plus 79 strike differential in one UFC middleweight bout vs. Brad Tavares on 7-6-18 | |
| Adesanya is tied for sixth with 37 leg kicks landed in one UFC middleweight bout vs. Brad Tavares on 7-6-18 | |
| UFC light heavyweight single round records | UFC middleweight single round records |
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