Israel
Adesanya will attempt to become a two-division champion when he
faces 205-pound king Jan
Blachowicz at UFC 259.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking to
ESPN on Wednesday evening. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and
also includes a featherweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and
Megan Anderson, but the promotion has not yet announced a location
for the event. Only seven fighters have been two-division UFC
champions.
Adesanya is 20-0 to begin his professional career, including nine
triumphs under the UFC banner. “The Last Stylebender” claimed the
middleweight throne with a second-round knockout of Robert
Whittaker at UFC 243 and has since defended the title with
victories against Yoel Romero
and Paulo
Costa.
After a rough beginning to his promotional tenure in which he lost
four of his first six appearances, Blachowicz captured the vacant
light heavyweight belt with a second-round technical knockout of
Dominick
Reyes at UFC 253. The 37-year-old Pole has been victorious in
eight of his last nine UFC bouts.