Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The divide between Israel
Adesanya and his top challenger was far greater than anyone
realized. “The Last Stylebender” retained the undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title with a
scintillating stoppage of Paulo Costa
in the UFC
253 headliner on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates. Costa (13-1, 5-1 UFC) met his end 3:59 into
Round 2, the latest victim on Adesanya’s march to all-time
greatness.
It was a blowout from start to finish. Adesanya (20-0, 9-0 UFC)
wrecked the Brazilian’s lead leg with repeated kicks, frustrated
him with quick movements and methodically dismantled him. He
unleashed a multi-punch volley to the head and body in the second
round, floored Costa with a compact left hook and closed the door
on him with mounted ground-and-pound.
Blachowicz Fells Reyes, Strikes UFC Gold
Jan
Blachowicz wiped out Dominick
Reyes with second-round punches to capture the vacant light
heavyweight championship in the co-main event. Reyes (12-2, 6-2
UFC) succumbed to blows 4:36 into Round 2, failing in his second
attempt to strike UFC gold.
The vastly more experienced Blachowicz (27-8, 10-5 UFC) was
measured and precise, never straying from his approach. The
37-year-old Pole countered with power punches from both hands,
stayed composed and blistered Reyes’ body with crushing kicks; his
work left a multi-colored bruise on the Californian’s side that
looked more like a shark bite. Blachowicz appeared to break the
Cage Combat Academy product’s nose in the second round, continued
to bait the trap and unleashed when the time was right. A chopping
left hand detonated behind Reyes’ ear, set him on rubbery legs and
ultimately dropped him where he stood. Blachowicz then pounced with
punches until the job was done.
Blachowicz starts his title reign at 205 pounds on a four-fight
tear.
Royval Guillotine Subdues France
Former
Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brandon
Royval submitted Kai Kara
France with a guillotine choke in the second round of their
featured flyweight battle. France (21-9, 4-2 UFC) bowed out 48
seconds into Round 2, as he was finished for the first time in
nearly six years.
A frenetic first five minutes saw Royval (12-4, 2-0 UFC) lurch in
front despite being knocked down. He answered with a spinning back
elbow that sat down France, then threatened briefly with a
gogoplata. Later in the opening stanza, Royval dazed the City
Kickboxing rep with a close-range knee strike. Both men needed the
one-minute respite between rounds. France shot for an ill-advised
takedown inside the first minute of Round 2 and wandered into the
guillotine. He struggled to free himself but soon became aware that
his situation was hopeless.
Royval, 28, will enter his next assignment on the strength of four
consecutive victories.
Steady Vieira Decisions Eubanks
Nova Uniao’s Ketlen
Vieira rebounded from her Dec. 14 knockout loss to Irene
Aldana with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 26 finalist Sijara
Eubanks in a three-round women’s bantamweight showcase. Vieira
(11-1, 5-1 UFC) earned 29-28 marks from all three judges.
A short-notice substitution for Marion
Reneau, Eubanks (6-5, 4-3 UFC) had her moments but struggled to
navigate the Brazilian’s combination of size, strength and length.
Vieira paired tactical takedowns in the first and second rounds
with a potent jab and chopping right hands. Eubanks made her move
in the third, where she upped her output and targeted the head,
body and legs but never managed to put her opponent in legitimate
danger.
The loss snapped Eubanks’ two-fight winning streak.
Surging Dawodu Edges Tukhugov
Stinging kicks to the lower leg and punching combinations to the
body and head carried Hakeem
Dawodu to a split decision over Zubaira
Tukhugov in a featured catchweight clash at 150 pounds. Judges
Anders Ohlsson and Ahmed Korchi scored it 30-27 and 29-28 for
Dawodu, while Dave Tirelli
struck a 29-28 scorecard in Tukhugov’s favor.
Neither man was willing to engage at the start, the tepid pace
perhaps a nod to the respect they had for one another’s skills.
Tukhugov (19-5-1, 4-2-1 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by
four pounds—leaned on his jab and delivered a takedown in a closely
contested second round, but he retreated into a shell in the third.
Dawodu (12-1-1, 5-1 UFC) targeted his already damaged lower lead
leg with kicks, pieced together two- and three-punch volleys and
moved forward with taunts and profanity in a bid to draw out his
opponent.
The 29-year-old Tukhugov has recorded five straight wins.
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