UFC 259 HEADLINED BY THREE THRILLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS - 15Rounds

UFC 259 HEADLINED BY THREE
THRILLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
BOUTS
               ®
Las Vegas – UFC delivers its most stacked Pay-Per-View event
of 2021 so far, headlined by a trio of world championship
bouts. Newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jan
Blachowicz makes his first title defense against UFC
middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who aims to become only
the fifth fighter to simultaneously hold belts in two UFC
weight classes. Two-division titleholder Amanda Nunes puts her
UFC featherweight championship on the line against talented
striker Megan Anderson. Plus, UFC bantamweight champion Petr
Yan looks to take out surging No. 1 contender Aljamain
Sterling.

UFC ® 259: B?ACHOWICZ vs. ADESANYA will take place Saturday,
March 6 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas and will stream live on Pay-
Per-View, exclusively through ESPN+ in the U.S. at 10 p.m.
ET/7 p.m. PT in both English and Spanish.

ESPN+ is the exclusive provider of all UFC Pay-Per-View events
to fans in the U.S. as part of an agreement announced in 2019.

Fans will be able to purchase UFC ® 259: B?ACHOWICZ vs.
ADESANYAonline at ESPNPlus.com/PPV or on the ESPN App on
mobile and connected-TV devices. ESPN+ is available as an
integrated part of the ESPN App on all major mobile and
connected TV devices and platforms, including Amazon Fire,
Apple, Android, Chromecast, PS4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, X
Box One and more.

Preliminary fights will air nationally in English on ESPN and
in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, as well as being simulcast in
both languages on ESPN+ starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Early

prelims will be available on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ (in
English and Spanish) at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Blachowicz (27-8, fighting out of Warsaw, Poland) captured the
vacant UFC light heavyweight championship with a spectacular
TKO victory over Dominick Reyes in September. Known for his
“Polish power,” the No. 14 ranked men’s pound-for-pound
fighter has also earned impressive KO wins against Corey
Anderson, Luke Rockhold and Ilir Latifi. Blachowicz now
attempts to cement his reign by securing his first successful
title defense and handing Adesanya his first career loss.

No. 3 ranked men’s pound-for-pound fighter Adesanya (20-0,
fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand by way of Lagos,
Nigeria) quickly turned heads upon joining the UFC roster in
2018. The former kickboxer has since secured his spot atop the
middleweight ladder with sensational KO victories over Paulo
Costa, Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson. Adesanya now aims
to etch his name in the history books by taking out Blachowicz
to become a two-division UFC champion.

The   greatest    female     fighter     in   combat   sports
history, Nunes (20-4, fighting out of Coral Springs, Fla. by
way of Bahia, Brazil) looks to continue building her legacy by
securing her seventh overall UFC title defense —and second in
the featherweight division. Throughout her storied career, she
has earned stoppage wins over former UFC champions Ronda
Rousey, Holly Holm, Cris Cyborg and Miesha Tate. Nunes now
hopes to deliver another vintage performance by becoming the
first fighter to KO Anderson.

Former Invicta FC featherweight champion Anderson (11-4,
fighting out of Kansas City, Mo. by way of Gold Coast,
Australia) is poised to send shockwaves throughout the MMA
world if she can finish Nunes. A powerful kickboxer, she has
delivered memorable stoppage victories over Cat Zingano, Norma
Dumont and Zarah Fairn during her UFC run. Anderson now has
her sights set on achieving her dream of UFC gold by handing

Nunes her first loss in over six years.

Yan (15-1, fighting out of Yekaterinburg, Russia) realized his
goal of becoming UFC champion by delivering a thrilling fifth-
round TKO victory over all-time great Jose Aldo last July.
Currently riding an impressive 10-fight win streak, the No. 10
ranked men’s pound-for-pound fighter has also netted KO wins
against UFC Hall of Fame inductee Urijah Faber, Douglas Silva
de Andrade and Teruto Ishihara. Yan is now gunning for another
highlight-reel finish to secure his first successful UFC title
defense.

Sterling (19-3, fighting out of Uniondale, N.Y.) hopes to make
the most of his first title shot by becoming the first fighter
to finish Yan. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and former
NCAA Division III wrestling standout, Sterling holds notable
submission victories over Cory Sandhagen, Cody Stamann, Johnny
Eduardo and Takeya Mizugaki. Sterling now attempts to secure
his biggest win yet by dethroning Yan in emphatic fashion to
capture UFC gold.

Additional bouts on the card include:

     No.   14  ranked   lightweight    contender    Islam
     Makhachev (18-1, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia)
     looks to defend his spot on the 155-ladder when he takes
     on dangerous finisher Drew Dober (23-9 1NC, fighting out
     of Denver, Colo.)
     Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger and No. 2
     ranked contender Thiago Santos (21-8, fighting out of
     Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) locks horns with No.
     4 Aleksandar Rakic (13-2, fighting out of Vienna,
     Austria)
     Former UFC bantamweight champion and No. 11 ranked
     contender Dominick Cruz (22-3, fighting out of San
     Diego, Calif.) looks to stop the momentum of
     surging Casey Kenney (16-2-1, fighting out of Tucson,
     Ariz.)

No. 14 ranked bantamweight contender Song Yadong (16-4-1
1NC, fighting out of Heilongjiang, China) aims to push
his unbeaten streak to 10 bouts when he faces The
Ultimate Fighter season 27 veteran Kyler Phillips (8-1,
fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.)
Former UFC flyweight title challenger and No. 2 ranked
contender Joseph Benavidez (28-7, fighting out of Las
Cruces, N.M.) squares off with undefeated No. 3 Askar
Askarov (12-0-1, fighting out of Khasavyurt, Dagestan,
Russia)
No. 15 ranked women’s strawweight contender Livinha
Souza (12-4, fighting out of Araraquara, State of São
Paulo, Brazil) takes on rising prospect Amanda
Lemos (8-1-1, fighting out of Para, Brazil)
No.   12   ranked    flyweight    contender    Timothy
Elliott (17-11-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.)
goes   for   another   show-stealing    performance
against Jordan Espinosa (15-8 1NC, fighting out of
Albuquerque, N.M.)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (7-1, fighting out of Dallas, Texas)
takes on unbeaten newcomer Carlos Ulberg (5-0, fighting
out of Auckland, New Zealand) in an exciting light
heavyweight bout
Sean Brady (13-0, fighting out of Philadelphia, Penn.)
faces Jake Matthews (17-4, fighting out of Epping,
Victoria, Australia) in what promises to be an
entertaining welterweight bout
Rogerio Bontorin (16-2 1NC, fighting out of Colombo,
Parana, Brazil) meets Kai Kara-France (21-9 1NC,
fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) in a clash of No.
8 ranked flyweight contenders
Dana White’s Contender Series signees collide when Uros
Medic (6-0, fighting out of Anchorage, Alaska by way of
Novi Sad, Serbia) meets Aalon Cruz (8-3, fighting out of
Tampa, Fla.) at lightweight
Mario Bautista (8-1, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.)
steps in to face Trevin Jones (12-6 1NC, fighting out of

Maite, Guam) at bantamweight

For the latest information on additional bouts for this event,
please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to
change.

###

             ®
About UFC

      ®
UFC is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization
(MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 142 million social
media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live
events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around
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roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing
more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings
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services for combat sports. UFC was acquired in 2016 by global
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