UFC 259 went down tonight (Sat. March 6, 2021) from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility and we have the results. The world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion compiled an excellent card for fight fans to enjoy.
It was headlined by a meeting between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya in a light heavyweight title bout.
The co-headliner saw a women’s featherweight title bout between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling in a bantamweight title contest, Islam Makhachev vs. Drew Dober, and Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic finished out the main card.
It was certain to have a great night of fights. Check out MMA News’ UFC 259 results below:
Light heavyweight title fight: Jan Blachowicz (champion) vs. Israel Adesanya
There was a feeling out process early. Both guys were using kicks to find their target. Things picked up a bit in the second round with Jan starting to throw more. Izzy was throwing more kicks to the body. Jan clinched with him then landed a knee strike to the body. The third round saw Jan start to clinch more where he worked him over in the body with strikes. Izzy had the range advantage and was landing at will. Once this round came around, Jan stopped being so conservated. Jan did land some nice shots in the pocket. Jan did get a takedown in the fourth round and moved to half guard where he worked him over with strikes. Jan was breathing heavily coming out for the final round. However, Jan got a takedown with a few minutes left and finished strong with shots. The judges gave the win to Blachowicz to retain.
Women’s featherweight title fight: Amanda Nunes (champion) vs. Megan Anderson
Nunes cracked her right out of the gate. Nunes hurt her with follow up shots then dropped her and got on top where she found herself in back mount then locked in an armbar for the win.
Bantamweight title fight: Petr Yan (champion) vs. Aljamain Sterling
Sterling pressed the pace and mixed things up with his strikes. Sterling caught him with a knee strike to the face. Yan shoved him down to the ground, but let him back up. Yan knocked him down with a huge right hand, but Sterling came up swinging. Yan slammed him down on his head with a takedown then went for his back, but Sterling circled out to end round one. Sterling tripped off a kick and Yan let him back up. Sterling pressed him up against the fence, but Yan shut it down. Sterling kept trying to get a takedown up against the fence, but was landing nicely. After pressure from Sterling, Yan scored a brief takedown. The third round saw them do more clinch work before Yan tossed him down to the ground, but Sterling was back up. Sterling started to slow down. Sterling went for a takedown at the start of the fourth round, but Yan shut it down. Sterling started to focus on his strikes in this round and it was paying off. Yan was a sniper and picking him apart in the fourth. A nasty looking spot came when Sterling had one knee down and Yan landed a huge knee strike to the face of Sterling. The referee told Yan that Sterling was down before the strike was thrown. Sterling was laying on the mat and couldn’t get up. Thus, the fight was called off and the decision was left up to the referee, who ruled it a DQ. As a result, Sterling was named the new bantamweight champion.
Islam Makhachev vs. Drew Dober
Makhachev went for a single leg takedown and got it. Islam moved to half guard to start off the first round. Makhachev took his back with a minute left to go, but Dober got out of it and Makhachev moved to side control then to full mount and got an armbar and the round ran out with Dober on top in full guard. The second round saw Makhachev take him down early and got into full guard. Makhachev had his legs wrapped up while placing him against the fence. The third round took just seconds for Makhachev to get a takedown and moved to guard. Dober tried to go for a kimura off his back, but couldn’t get it. Makhachev locked in an arm-triangle choke for the win.
Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Santos was throwing power shots early. Rakic was trying to throw the exact same strike that Santos would for whatever reason. It was a close first round with both fighters landing. Rakic clinched with him up against the fence and they traded shots up against the fence. Santos separated and caught him with some strikes. Rakic was doing a better job of movement and mixing up his kicks. The third round saw Santos go for a takedown, but Rakic shoved him over and they clinched up against the fence. Rakic worked for a takedown, but Santos did a very good job at defending it. As Joe Rogan said, it was an unexciting fight that was lackluster. Rakic got it by decision.
Quick UFC 259 Results
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Light heavyweight title fight: Jan Blachowicz def. Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 49-45) to retain
- Women’s featherweight title fight: Amanda Nunes def. Megan Anderson by submission (armbar) at 2:03 of Round 1 to retain the title
- Bantamweight title fight: Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan by disqualification (intentional illegal knee) at 4:29 of Round 4 to win the title
- Lightweight bout: Islam Makhachev def. Drew Dober by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:37 of Round 3
- Light heavyweight bout: Aleksandar Rakic def. Thiago Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Bantamweight bout: Dominick Cruz def. Casey Kenney by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Bantamweight bout: Kyler Phillips def. Song Yadong by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Flyweight bout: Askar Askarov def. Joseph Benavidez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Flyweight bout: Kai Kara-France def. Rogerio Bontorin by TKO (punches) at 4:55 of Round 1
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Flyweight bout: Tim Elliott def. Jordan Espinosa by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
- Light heavyweight bout: Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carlos Ulberg by TKO (punches) at 3:19 of Round 2
- Welterweight bout: Sean Brady def. Jake Matthews by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:28 of Round 3
- Women’s strawweight bout: Amanda Lemos def. Livinha Souza by TKO (punches) at 3:39 of Round 1
- Lightweight bout: Uros Medic def. Aalon Cruz by TKO (punches) at 1:40 of Round 1
- Bantamweight bout: Trevin Jones def. Mario Bautista by TKO (punches) at :40 of Round 2
