Israel Adesanya retained his belt as the middleweight champion as he dominated Paul Costa in the final of UFC 253 presented at Fight Island in the United Arab Emirates.
The New Zealander managed a knockout technique in the second round to remain undefeated (20-0) after his second title defense.
“This is the game we play, this is violence and I told you guys that it was going to be violent and I said it, it’s going to be violent and it’s going to end fast and that’s what I did.” Adesanya said.
Adesanya, meanwhile, has already faced off against and beaten the class of the division. He wants to fight Jared Cannoiner next if he defeats Robert Whittaker in his quest to clear out the middleweight division.
Costa (13-1) for his part cashed his first defeat among professionals. In his first four fights in the UFC, he was knocked out to his opponents, before winning by unanimous decision over Romero in his most recent fight.
In the semifinals of this gala, Dominic Reyes, and Jan Blachowicz contested for the light heavyweight title recently vacated by Jon Jones.
Blachowicz passed the KO to his rival in the second round to triumph, becoming the first category champion in 9 years not to bear the name of Jones or Daniel Cormier. He was the most active in the first round, especially with good kicks to the body, to lead.
As the second round finished, after several good combinations, he sent Reyes to the mat with a left hook to the temple and completed the job with his ground and pound. . Reyes ended up with a serious bruise on his ribs and a noticeably broken nose.
“I was ready for anything, I felt good today. It’s nothing new to me, I have a lot of fights behind the tie at 37. I’m going to be a father soon, this prospect scares me much more,” Blachowicz said.
