UFC 259 went down last night (Sat., March 6, 2021) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, providing combat fans with an action-packed night of fights. In the main event of the evening, Jan Blachowicz defended his Light Heavyweight title for the first time against Middleweight king, Israel Adesanya (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Amanda Nunes made quick work of Megan Anderson (video replay here), while Petr Yan lost his Bantamweight title to Aljamain Sterling via disqualification.
Winner: Jan Blachowicz
Who He Should Fight Next: Glover Teixeira
After handing Adesanya his first-ever defeat in mixed martial arts (MMA), Blachowicz will likely put his belt on the line against Teixeira next. “Hands of Stone” was pegged as a back up for UFC 259, a right he earned after reeling off five straight victories, good enough to earn him the No. 1 ranking. Jon Jones won’t be dropping back down to 205 pounds anytime soon, so Blachowicz’s dream of becoming the first man to defeat him won’t be happening anytime soon, either. Blachowicz has truly become the poster boy for the underdog after his latest win, though something tells me he’ll be the favorite in his next title defense.
Winner: Amanda Nunes
Who She Should Fight Next: Holly Holm vs. Julianna Pena winner
There isn’t anyone else for Nunes to fight at Featherweight at the moment, so “Lioness” will likely drop back down to 135 pounds to defend that belt next. Germaine de Randamie is ranked No. 1, but she has only managed to pick up one win after getting out-classed by Nunes in late 2019. Holm and Pena, meanwhile, are set to tango on May 8, 2021, and the winner there should get to face Nunes. Holm (No. 2) did lose to Nunes via knockout in July 2019, but she has since picked up two wins, and a victory over Pena will give her three in a row and a good case for a rematch. Pena (No. 6) is coming off a win over Sara McMann and if she takes out “The Preacher’s Daughter” in impressive fashion, it will give her two straight wins.
Winner: Aljamain Sterling
Who He Should Fight Next: Petr Yan rematch
After the fight ended in anti-climactic fashion, UFC President, Dana White, stated after the fight that an immediate rematch would be in order. And that’s a no-brainer, really. When it take place, though, is still up in the air because “Funkmaster” will likely need some recovery time. Plus, Cory Sandhagen was already in talks to face T.J. Dillashaw, so a Yan vs. Sterling do-over won’t be holding up the championship line.
Winner: Aleksandar Rakic
Who He Should Fight Next: Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka winner
Ranked No. 4 at 205 pounds, “Rocket” still has some work to do before he can make a case for a title shot. That’s the reason he should face the winner of the upcoming bout between Reyes (No. 3) and Prochazka (No. 5), which is set to go down on May 1, 2021. Rakic is 6-1 inside the Octagon, winning his last two bouts, a nice run that definitely puts him at the front of the championship race. There really isn’t much science going into this one, it simply makes sense especially since Teixeira should get the next shot at 205 pounds.
Winner: Islam Makhachev
Who He Should Fight Next: Rafael dos Anjos
Makhachev picked up his seventh straight win with an impressive outing against Drew Dober, putting him at 8-1 overall under the UFC banner. The Russian-born fighter — who some believe has the chops to become 155-pound champion — will likely crack the Top 10 this week, giving him the leverage to demand bigger fights. He’s already asking for Tony Ferguson, but I’m not too sure “El Cucuy” is willing to take that fight just yet. If he does move up several spots, then booking Makhachev to face “RDA” next is possible. Dos Anjos is coming off a win over Paul Felder, his first win in more than 1.5 years. Furthermore, “RDA” and Makhachev were set to tango on two different occasions, once at UFC 254 (which was scratched because of COVID-19) and the other at UFC Vegas 14 (which was canceled after Islam suffered an injury).
For complete UFC 259 results and coverage click here.