Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa
The Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE was home to a great night of fights at UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa. The card saw three (T)KOs, two submissions and six decisions, including one split-decision.
The prelims opened with Danilo Marques scoring the unanimous decision over Khadis Ibragimov. That was followed by Juan Espino submitting Jeff Hughes with a first-round arm triangle. Newcomer William Knight bested Aleksa Camur via unanimous decision and Ludovit Klein starched Shane Young with a combo head kick and punches knockout. Jake Matthews defeated Diego Sanchez via lopsided unanimous decision and Brad Riddell won his contest with Alex Da Silva in a hard fought battle. Hakeem Dawodu and Zubaira Tukhugov fought to a split decision that Dawodu took the better end of. Sijara Eubanks’s quick turnaround would leave her winless tonight, as Ketlen Vieira would take the unanimous decision. Brandon Royval submitted Kai Kara France in the second round after a wildly entertaining scrap, netting him his eighth submission win.
Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes treated us to a fun nine-minutes-and-36 seconds where Blachowicz largely had his way with the man seven years his junior. However, around the nine-minute mark, Jan decided he’d had enough of Reyes’ long torso and put him on stanky legs after a nasty counter left wobbled the former college football standout. The Pole followed him to the ground with a barrage of punches to seal the deal. Jan Blachowicz is now the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Israel Adesanya came in with an unhinged hatred of Paulo Costa’s lead left leg and he punished it ruthlessly all night. Bruised and swollen by round two, Costa did nothing to change his attack, doggedly moving forward with no course correction. The second round was much of the same and after continuing his brilliant attack on Costa’s body and legs, Izzy dropped him with a counter left, then swarmed him with punches until referee Jason Herzog waved off the action.
Performance of the Night: Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz
Juan Espino (arm triangle choke, 3:48 of round 1), Ludovit Klein (KO (head kick and punches), 1:16 of round 1), Brandon Royval (guillotine choke, :48 of round 2), Jan Blachowicz (TKO (punches), 4:36 of round 2), and Israel Adesanya (TKO (strikes) at 3:59 of round 2) all finished their respective fights inside the distance, but it would be Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz taking the $50K
Fight of the Night: Brandon Royval and Kai Kara-France
Danilo Marques (29-28, 29-28, 30-27), William Knight (29-28, 30-27, 30-27), Jake Matthews (30-26, 30-26, 30-26), Brad Riddell (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Hakeem Dawodu (28-29, 30-27, 29-28), and Ketlen Vieira (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) all heard the final horn in their respective fights, but it would be Brandon Royval’s two-round battle with Kai Kara France that would take FOTN honors.