UFC 259: Jan Blachowicz vs Israel Adesanya Preview, Odds, Prediction

The UFC 259 features the bout between the light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The stakes are high for both guys. On one side, Blachowicz was always doubted, and even after winning the title against Dominick Reyes certain groups aren’t considering him an elite of the UFC. Meanwhile, Adesanya puts his perfect record on the line but is after a big prize, and that is holding two belts at the same time. That is why Saturday’s matchup creates so much hype around the world.

Preview

Blachowicz (-210) won his title belt at the same event where Adesanya demolished Paulo Costa. Back then, the Pole had an impressive performance as well, with him trashing Reyes, who came into this bout as a massive favorite. In case you don’t remember well enough how Jan ended that one, here is the video underneath to refresh your memory.

Happy Birthday to the Champ Jan Blachowicz! 🏆

That legendary Polish Power had Reyes dancing, can he do the same at #UFC259?pic.twitter.com/DqOtqP6NgA

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 24, 2021

The light heavyweight champion has eight wins over the past nine encounters, with the sole loss coming to Thiago Santos, who had him KOd in February 2019. After that one, Blachowicz went on to beat Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, Corey Anderson, and Reyes, making one of the most surprising title quests in the UFC over the recent 10 years or more.

He is a guy with fantastic KO power in his fists, but over the course of time, Blachowicz learned how to use his leg kicks to not only control the distance between him and the rival but also to create some damage. His physical shape is excellent as well, and from bout to bout, he looks better and better.

Adesanya (-205) is a freak of nature. His speed is unreal, his athleticism too, and on top of all that God-given physical attributes, this guy is perfect when it comes to tactics. Anyone who has witnessed some of his matches could notice that Adesanya doesn’t isn’t abandoning his gameplan regardless of the current situation and the circumstances.

https://twitter.com/hardeydollarpoo/status/1310158377457201153

Against Romero, the spectators were upset with the lack of his aggressiveness and unwillingness to attack the Cuban, but that left no impression on the New Zealander who didn’t want to risk getting caught in Romero’s jaws. The same was against Costa, where he slowly began chopping the Brazilian’s leg before he limited his mobility and eventually inflicting a massive hit that sent Borachina to the ground.

So far, Izzy is 20-0, with just one fight in his life that might have gone both ways, against Marvin Vettori. All other opponents were more or less demolished or didn’t have any chance of endangering the Last Stylebender.

Prediction

This match has the potential to be legendary. Adesanya went 20 pounds up to challenge Blachowicz. Was that the right move? We’ll see in a few days. We have to say that betting on the winner here is highly risky, even though Izzy has a massive advantage, according to the bookies. The more reasonable pick, in this case, would be to go with the KO as the method of win. The odds are nice, and the chances of happening very, very high. Both guys often post wins like this, so why not giving it a go.