A champion vs. champion fight will go down in March when reigning UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz puts his belt on the line against middleweight king Israel Adesanya, who looks for a second championship.

Blachowicz (27-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) have agreed to clash in the UFC 259 headliner on March 6. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a person close to the situation Wednesday after Dana White announced the news to promotional partner ESPN.

UFC 259 does not yet have an official location or venue. The main card is set to stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Blachowicz will look to make his first 205-pound title defense a good one after capturing the belt that was vacated by Jon Jones in August. The Polish fighter upset noted favorite Dominick Reyes with a second-round knockout at UFC 253 on Sept. 26, putting UFC gold around his waist for the first time at age 36.

He’ll attempt to use his “Polish power” to great effect once again against Adesanya, who will attempt to become the eighth fighter in UFC history to capture titles in two weight divisions. He would be the first, however, to do it at middleweight and light heavyweight.

The reigning 185-pound king has teased the idea of moving up for more than a year, but many believed it would be for a superfight against Jones. That won’t be the case, as he will instead challenge Blachowicz after earning a victories in a pair of title defenses in 2020 against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.

The latest UFC 259 lineup now includes:

• Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya – for light heavyweight title
• Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
• Aleksandar Rakic vs. Thiago Santos
• Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
• Askar Askarov vs. Joseph Benavidez
• Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews
• Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones
• Aalon Cruz vs. Uros Medic
• Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-259-jan-blachowicz-israel-adesanya-light-heavyweight-title-champion-vs-champion

An interesting strawweight matchup has been added to the March 20 UFC Fight Night.

Cheyanne Buys will meet Kay Hansen during the event, which does not yet have a location announced. Both fighters confirmed the booking on Instagram after an initial post from “I Like Who I’m Becoming MMA.”

Buys (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) earned her spot in the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series. She was given a UFC contract after an impressive unanimous decision win over Hilarie Rose at DWCS 29 on Aug. 18. The victory gave the Fortis MMA product four straight wins.

Hansen (7-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC), meanwhile, is a 21-year-old prospect who has proven herself capable of exciting fights, win or lose. Hansen lost an entertaining scrap via decision against Cory McKenna on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas. That ended a three-fight win streak which included a “Performance of the Night” bonus in her UFC debut, a submission finish of former Invicta champion Jinh Yu Frey.

While much of the card has yet to be signed, the March 20 event features a highly anticipated middleweight showdown between Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/cheyanne-buys-kay-hansen-ufc-fight-night-card-march-20

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas lost her belt to Jessica Andrade at UFC 237. After a year outside of the cage, Namajunas returned for the rematch at UFC 251.

Andrade had already lost the title to Zhang Weili, but Namajunas avenged the loss.

Take a look back at Namajunas’s victory over Andrade at UFC 251 on Fight Island.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/watch-rose-namajunas-avenge-loss-to-jessica-andrade-at-ufc-251

See how the leader in combat athletics set a new bar for sports performance with the development of the UFC Performance Institute. With Forrest Griffin, Claudia Gadelha, Kevin Lee, Joanne Calderwood and more.

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(Video courtesy of UFC)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/what-is-the-ufc-performance-institute-and-why-is-it-so-important

The UFC’s return to “Fight Island” has lost another bout.

Jeffrey Molina has withdrawn from his scheduled UFC Fight Night bout Jan. 20 vs. Zarrukh Adashev. The promotion is seeking a replacement to keep Adashev (3-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the card, which will take place in Abu Dhabi.

Two people with knowledge of Molina’s withdrawal confirmed the news to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. TASS was first to report the news Tuesday, citing a positive COVID-19 test as the reason.

Molina (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a member of Glory MMA and Fitness and was signed to the UFC after a unanimous decision win over Jacob Silva on Dana White’s Contender Series in August. He has won eight straight fights.

A former kickboxer, Adashev won three straight fights en route to his UFC signing in mid-2020. Adashev lost his UFC debut in June when he was brutally knocked out by Tyson Nam.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Jan. 20 includes:

• Leon Edwards vs. TBD
• Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny
• Viviane Araujo vs. Roxanne Modafferi
• Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
• Francisco Figueredo vs. Jerome Rivera
• Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson
• Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
• Matt Brown vs. Carlos Condit
• Zarrukh Adashev vs. TBA
• Lerone Murphy vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
• Vinicius Moreira vs. Ike Villanueva
• Manon Fiorot v. Victoria Leonardo
• Mike Davis vs. Mason Jones
• Isi Fitikefu vs. Dalcha Lungiambula

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-news-jeffrey-molina-out-zarrukh-adashev-needs-opponent-january-20