Zane Simon & Eddie Mercado are here to breakdown this Saturday’s, September, 26th., UFC 253, from UFC FIGHT ISLAND. The guys will have hot takes, possible next fights, as well as reactions to the overall event.
Zane Simon & Eddie Mercado are here to breakdown the UFC 253 event, with hot takes, possible next fights, as well as reactions to the overall event in the player above or on our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube Channel and BE Presents Podcast Network. (SPOILERS…)
Overall, this eleven-bout card saw two swift finishes in Round 1, two submissions, had a total of three KO/TKOs (including both Title Fights), and six decisions (one of them Split). Rounding things out, bonuses for putting forth POTN efforts went to Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz; and FOTN honors went to… Brandon Royval vs. Kai Kara-France. Wow, what a fun night of fights we have to discuss with you!
So, as we all know, tonight’s UFC card showcased a title fight for the UFC Middleweight Championship. In that featured bout, we had Adesanya and Costa going at it in the main event of the UFC 253 PPV card, which was broadcast from The Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE — aka: #UFCFIGHTISLAND.
Our defending champion: Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Adesanya, entered the octagon with an undefeated 19-0 record. The 31-year old Nigerian Champion fighting out of New Zealand, was pitted up against the contender: Paulo ‘The Eraser’ Costa… Our challenger, holding an undefeated 13-0 fight record, entered the octagon a slight underdog. The 29-year old Brazilian brawler had a 3” height and 8” reach deficit going against his efforts to defeat Adesanya tonight.
Also on the card, a highly-anticipated scrap for our co-main event; it was a battle for the UFC Vacant Light Heavyweight Championship between Dominick ‘The Devastator’ Reyes; who entered the octagon a moderate favorite, with a 12-1 record at 30 years of age, taking on fight veteran Jan Blachowicz with his 26-8 record at 37 years of age. As if that’s not enough, we also had an exciting flyweight tilt between Kai ‘Don’t Blink’ Kara-France and Brandon ‘Raw Dog’ Royval – which was preceded by a fully-packed undercard.
Here’s a look at the UFC 253 RESULTS & UPDATED FIGHT RECORDS:
‘ADESANYA VS. COSTA’ & ‘REYES VS BLACHOWICZ’ MAIN PPV CARD | SAT. SEP 26:
11. UFC Middleweight Championship – Israel Adesanya (20-0) DEF. Paulo Costa (13-1) – KO/TKO, Left Hook to G & P at 3:59 of Rd 2, Total 8:59
10. UFC Vacant Light Heavyweight Championship – Jan Blachowicz (27-8) DEF. Dominick Reyes (12-2) – KO/TKO, Punches at 4:36 of Rd 2, Total 9:36
9. 125lbs – Brandon Royval (12-4) DEF. Kai Kara-France (21-9) – SUB, Guillotine Choke at 0:48 of Rd 2, Total 5:48
8. 145lbs – Ketlen Vieira (11-1) DEF. Sijara Eubanks (6-5) – DEC, Unanimous
7. 155lbs – Hakeem Dawodu (12-1) DEF. Zubaira Tukhugov (19-5) – DEC, SPLIT
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: ($50K ea.) Brandon Royval vs. Kai Kara-France
PERFORMANCES OF THE NIGHT: ($50K ea.) 1. Israel Adesanya 2. Jan Blachowicz
ESPN+ PRELIMS
6. 155lbs – Brad Riddell (9-1) DEF. Alex da Silva (21-3) – DEC, Unanimous
5. 170lbs – Jake Matthews (17-4) DEF. Diego Sanchez (30-13) – DEC, Unanimous
4. 145lbs – ?udovít Klein (17-2) DEF. Shane Young (13-5) – KO/TKO, Head Kick & Punches at 1:16 of Rd 1
3. 205lbs – William Knight (9-1) DEF. Aleksa Camur (6-1) – DEC, Unanimous
2. 265lbs – Juan Espino (10-1) DEF. Jeff Hughes (10-4) – SUB, Scarf Hold Choke at 3:48 of Rd 1
1. 205lbs – Danilo Marques (9-2) DEF. Khadis Ibragimov (8-4) – DEC, Unanimous
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