UFC: Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya set for epic MMA clash

Nigeria-born Israel Adesanya is set to make history as he battles light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, in UFC bout 259 on Saturday.

The undefeated Adesanya is set to rewrite Irishman Conor McGregor’s record of being the first fighter in UFC history to hold both the lightweight title and featherweight titles at the same time.

Adesanya had earlier defeated Brazilian Paulo Costa in a second round TKO to retain his middleweight title and extend his perfect professional record to 20-0.

The epic clash is unarguably the most anticipated MMA bout of the last few years with Adesanya 84kg lighter than his opponent Blachowicz who weighed in at 93kg.

The Last Stylebender has never fought at light heavyweight under the UFC banner, and the 20-pound gap between 205 pounds and 185 pounds is the largest of any two weight classes.

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Besides a back and forth epic clash with Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight belt, nobody has effectively tested the Nigeria-born fighter, who possesses unmatched striking capability and defensive maneuvering.

Blachowicz joined UFC in 2014 and he has an impressive 17-3 record while Adesanya has a professional record of 20-0 since making his debut 37 months ago.

Blachowicz, Polish Power’s last win which earned him the title was largely fueled by the body kicks that he used to batter the midsection of the aforementioned Reyes which will be one of the keys to beating Adesanya.

The Last Stylebender said it’s about victory for him but he wants to be remembered as the greatest of all time.

“For me it’s about the victories. The names you collect, the scalps you take along the way. I want to be the guy that took out everyone so that when it’s all said and done they can be like, ‘he’s the greatest of all time'”.