LAS VEGAS — Israel Adesanya was not made for this. Oh, the UFC’s middleweight champion is a born fighter, if ever there was one. He’s smart, talented and ambitious, and just three years since he debuted in the UFC, he’s about to challenge light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz for his second belt.
Adesanya would become only the fifth fighter in UFC history to achieve that feat, following Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.
Adesanya and Blachowicz will headline UFC 259 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV) at Apex in front of, at max, 200 people and no fans.