Matchmaker Monday following UFC 259
UFC 259 was a huge night for the promotion as they put on a rare feat of three championship fights on the same card.
In the main event, light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz made his first title defense against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes continued to do Amanda Nunes things and just derailed the competition as when needed just over two minutes to submit Megan Anderson. The third title fight was historic as the Aljamain Sterling won the bantamweight after Petr Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee.
Now that the event is over with, let’s breakdown what’s next for the fighters on this Matchmaker Monday.
Jan Blachowicz
Result: defeated Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision at UFC 259
Next: Glover Teixeira
Blachowicz was too strong for Adesanya especially towards the end of the fight when he took Adesanya down with ease and controlled him on the ground.
After winning what was probably the biggest win of his career, the No. 1 contender in his division is next and that’s Glover Teixeira.
The 41-year-old Teixeira has been red hot as of late as he’s currently riding a five-fight winning streak. Not only one is the the No.1 contender and the most deserving next opponent, but Blachowicz, Teixeira and UFC president Dana White all again the next title fight at 205 pounds will be Blachowicz vs. Teixeira.
Israel Adesanya
Result: lost to Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision at UFC 259
Next: winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Paul Costa
Adesanya may not be the light heavyweight champion, but he is still the king of the middleweights right now.
Up next he’ll need to defend his throne at 185 pounds against the winner of the top two contenders in his division who square off on April 17.
Adesanya does hold wins over Whittaker and Costa, but they aren’t fighting each other for the hell of it. They both want another shot at Adesanya and they are fighting for the right to do so.
Amanda Nunes
Result: defeated Megan Anderson by first-round submission at UFC 259
Next: bantamweight title defense against Julianna Peña
Nunes is the GOAT and racked up another title defense and you might as well she cleared out the featherweight division.
Meanwhile, she has abandoned her bantamweight title for awhile now as she hasn’t defended it since July 2019. She must make that her next move and it looks like the UFC is headed in that direction.
Following the event, White said that Holly Holm is injured and won’t be fighting in May against Peña so now the promotion is looking to turn Nunes around quickly and having her fight Peña. So while the timeframe is unclear, it appears Nunes next opponent is at least set in stone.
Aljamain Sterling & Petr Yan
Result: Aljamain Sterling defeat Petr Yan by disqualification at UFC 259
Next: rematch
Talk about a crazy ending to a fight. That was the first time in UFC history that a title changed hands by disqualification.
Yan was most likely on his way to victory as it appeared Sterling was gassed and Yan was starting to really take over the fight. Instead of walking away with his first title defense, he now is no longer the champion.
Given the way things played out, a rematch is absolutely next. It appears Sterling, Yan and the UFC are all on the same page that a rematch is next.
This division as so many contenders that are worthy of a title shot, but they’re going to have to just keep jockeying for a title shot because Sterling and Yan need to do this fight again.
