The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates tonight for UFC 253: “Adesanya vs Costa.” The event was headlined by a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and Paulo Henrique “The Eraser” Costa.
In tonight’s co-main event, Dominick “The Devastator” Reyes battled Jan Blachowicz for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Also on the main card, Kai “Don’t Blink” Kara-France met Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval at flyweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya vs Paulo Henrique “The Eraser” Costa
Round 1:
Adesanya opened the fight with hard kicks to Costa’s lead leg. Costa landed two body kicks and he stayed outside of Adesanya’s punching range. More leg kicks scored for Adesanya and he caught a Costa body kick. Costa began to taunt and he attempted a head kick that was blocked. Adesanya attacked Costa’s lead leg with more kicks and he just missed with a question mark kick. Costa closed the distance, but Adesanya landed a counter one-two. 10-9 Adesanya.
Round 2:
The second round began with Adesanya landing more leg kicks and he followed with a head kick that was blocked. Costa’s offensive output remained extremely low and Adesanya landed kick after kick to his lead leg. He followed with a powerful body kick and a lead left hook. After two more leg kicks, Adesanya scored with a head kick that opened a cut near Costa’s right eye. Adesanya caught a kick and countered with a series of punches. He dropped Costa with a left hook to the temple and followed with punches and elbows from mount until referee Jason Herzog intervened to stop the fight.
Winner: Israel Adesanya by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 3:59 of round two. He improves to 20-0-0 and remains the UFC Middleweight Champion.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jan Blachowicz vs Dominick “The Devastator” Reyes
Round 1:
Blachowicz struck first with a leg kick and Reyes lunged forward with a left hand. He followed with an overhand left that backed Blachowicz up momentarily. Reyes landed a hard leg kick and Blachowicz responded with a one-two. Reyes countered a leg kick from Blachowicz with a straight left and the fighters continued to trade single strikes. With 90 seconds to go, Blachowicz landed a big right-left combo and he followed with a body kick. A large welt immediately formed on Reyes’s side and Blachowicz landed another two-punch combination. 10-9 Blachowicz.
Round 2:
The second round began with another exchange of kicks and Blachowicz countered one from Reyes with two lunging punches. He stayed outside of Reyes’s kicking range and stepped in with another quick flurry. After both men landed leg kicks, Blachowicz followed with another combination. The fighters traded uppercuts in close and Reyes ducked under a looping hook from Blachowicz. He attacked with kicks to Blachowicz’s lead leg, but Blachowicz answered with a kick to the welt on Reyes’s side. He chased after Reyes with punches and backed him up to the cage with a power flurry. With his nose seemingly broken, an injured Reyes landed a right hook in return, but Blachowicz dropped him with a left hook to the temple. He followed with more punches on the ground and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Jan Blachowicz by TKO (Punches) at 4:36 of round two. He improves to 27-8-0 and becomes the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval vs Kai “Don’t Blink” Kara-France
Round 1:
Kara-France staggered Royval with a big right hook early on. Both fighters were then dropped by a simultaneous spinning back elbow from Royval and a Kara-France right hook. Kara-France recovered more quickly and he rushed in with a knee and follow-up punches on the ground. Royval countered with an omoplata and the fighters returned to their feet. Royval landed a big knee that hurt Kara-France and he jumped in with a guillotine choke on the ground. Kara-France recovered and escaped to his feet. Royval remained aggressive with heavy punches and another knee. Kara-France countered with a huge overhand right that led to a clinch against the cage. The fighters separated and traded kicks at the bell. 10-9 Royval.
Round 2:
Royval jumped into a guillotine choke early in the second round and he used it to pull Kara-France down to the mat. Royval trapped Kara-France in a body triangle while tightening the guillotine and Kara-France tapped out just as he appeared to lose consciousness momentarily. Fantastic fight.
Winner: Brandon Royval by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:48 of round two. He improves to 12-4-0.
Ketlen “Fenômeno” Vieira vs Sijara “SarJ” Eubanks
Round 1:
Vieira initiated an early clinch and she held Eubanks against the cage. Eubanks reversed and threw a knee before backing away. Both women landed three-punch combos and Eubanks followed with a leg kick. She landed a nice overhand right and fought off another Vieira takedown attempt. Big punches were exchanged and both women landed hard right hands. Vieira followed with another combination and Eubanks attacked with a hook to the body. Vieira landed two quick flurries and an overhand right, but she failed once again with a takedown and Eubanks responded with punches. Both women landed power hooks late in the close round and Vieira secured a takedown before the bell. 10-9 Vieira.
Round 2:
Vieira took Eubanks down early in the second round and she struck from the top in Eubanks’s guard. Eubanks tried to use a kimura to sweep, but Vieira kept her pinned down and peppered her with left hands to the face. Referee Jason Herzog stood the fighters up and both women landed combinations. Jabs were exchanged and Vieira landed an overhand right that backed Eubanks up momentarily. She countered a Vieira right hand with a leg kick and the round ended with an exchange of punches. 10-9 Vieira.
Round 3:
Eubanks used her jab to set up overhand punches in the final round and she shrugged off a clinch attempt from Vieira. Eubanks countered long jabs from Vieira with a lunging flurry of punches and a head kick. She followed up with more kicks to Vieira’s lead leg and body and Vieira replied with a hard one-two. Eubanks missed with a right hook and Vieira tagged her with a series of punches in close. Eubanks continued to fight off Vieira’s takedown attempts and she landed more quick kicks to Vieira’s legs and body. In the final 30 seconds, Eubanks countered a takedown attempt and took Vieira’s back on the feet. Vieira rolled for a kneebar and Eubanks countered with punches. 10-9 Eubanks.
Winner: Ketlen Vieira by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 11-1-0.
“Mean” Hakeem Dawodu vs Zubaira “Warrior” Tukhugov
Round 1:
Dawodu landed occasional leg kicks during a cautious opening 90 seconds and Tukhugov finally responded with a hard left hook. The fighters continued to circle and Tukhugov countered a leg kick with another left hand. He followed with an overhand right and landed another one soon after. Both men landed hard right hooks late in the round and Dawodu followed with a quick combination. 10-10.
Round 2:
The pace increased in the second round as both men landed combinations early on and Tukhugov followed with overhand rights. Dawodu jabbed in return and mixed in leg kicks. Tukhugov scored with an uppercut and a right hook. Dawodu fired back with a right hand of his own and a chopping leg kick. Stiff jabs and two more leg kicks scored for Dawodu, which prompted Tukhugov to shoot in for a takedown. Dawodu stuffed it and he landed a left hook to the liver. Tukhugov dragged him down to the mat and he landed short right hands. In the final seconds, Tukhugov took Dawodu’s back and prevented him from standing up. 10-9 Tukhugov due to the late ground control.
Round 3:
Dawodu remained effective with leg kicks in the final round as Tukhugov’s movement began to slow down somewhat. Tukhugov suddenly rushed forward, however, and he attempted a takedown against the cage. Dawodu stuffed it and landed a big left hook, but Tukhugov clinched again and he eventually took Dawodu’s back. Dawodu spun free and he landed another powerful leg kick after an exchange of right hands. Dawodu began taunting Tukhugov as he walked him down with punches in the final minute. 10-9 Dawodu.
Winner: Hakeem Dawodu by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-1.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)