The most loaded UFC event of 2021 is upon us as UFC 259 takes place from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
UFC 259 features three title fights, headlined by Jan Blachowicz defending the light heavyweight championship against middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya. Also, dual women's champion Amanda Nunes puts her featherweight belt on the line versus Megan Anderson, and bantamweight titlist Petr Yan battles No. 1-ranked Aljamain Sterling.
Blachowicz's (27-8) won eight of his last nine and four consecutive fights, capped off by plowing through Dominick Reyes via second-round TKO at UFC 253 to capture UFC gold for the first time.
Adesanya (20-0) last fought on the same show as Blachowicz when he thrashed Paulo Costa via second-round TKO. Afterward, "The Last Style Bender" said he'd give Jared Cannonier the next title shot if he got by former titlist Robert Whittaker at last Saturday's UFC 254. But that didn't come to pass as Whittaker won a unanimous decision.
Nunes (20-4) is regarded as the greatest female fighter of all time and one of the greatest men or women to compete. "The Lioness" is on one of the sport's all-time fantastic runs, winning 11 consecutive fights with six coming via stoppage — including running through Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and Cris Cyborg in the first round. She's starting to run out of challengers at 135 and 145 pounds.
Enter the former Invicta FC women's featherweight champion. Anderson (11-4) secured her first UFC title shot with back-to-back stoppage wins over Norma Dumont and Zarah Fairn.
Yan (15-1) realized his goal of becoming UFC champion by scoring a fifth-round TKO victory over all-time great Jose Aldo at UFC 251. 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.
Sterling (19-3) hopes to make the most of his first title shot by becoming the first fighter to finish Yan. Sterling holds submission victories over top-ranked bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen, Cody Stamann, Johnny Eduardo, and Takeya Mizugaki. Sterling now attempts to secure his most significant win by dethroning Yan in emphatic fashion to capture UFC gold.
UFC 259 has a little bit of everything for everybody. It has the makings of a memorable show.
Here is everything you need to know about UFC 259: Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya.
UFC 259 FIGHT DATE, START TIME
- Date: Saturday, March 6
- Time: 5:15 p.m. ET
- Main event: 12:30 a.m. ET
UFC 259: Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya takes place on Saturday with the early prelims kicking the event off at 5:15 p.m. ET, before the pay-per-view main card begins at 10 p.m. ET. Blachowicz and Adesanya enter the Octagon at around 12:30 a.m. ET, depending on the length of the undercard bouts.
UFC 259 TV CHANNEL, LIVE STREAM
- U.S .: ESPN, ESPN+
In the United States, the PPV price for UFC 259 for current ESPN+ subscribers is $69.99. New subscribers have the option of bundling an annual ESPN+ subscription and the fight for $89.98. The first half of the preliminary card can be seen on ESPN+ at 5:15 p.m. ET before switching over to ESPN at 8 p.m. ET.
In Canada, the prelims (5:15 p.m. ET) are on TSN5 and the main card is available on PPV.
In the U.K., UFC 258 can be seen live BT Sport 1 (prelims at 10:15 p.m. GMT and main card at 3 a.m. on Sunday).
In Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, the UFC Fight Night main card (4 a.m. CET Sunday) is available on DAZN, the global sports streaming service.
More details about how to watch in other countries can be found at UFC.com.
WHERE IS UFC 259?
The card will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The UFC has held their recent U.S. events at the Apex with no audience due to current COVID-19 protocols. Blachowicz and Adesanya have never competed at the facility.
UFC 259 FIGHT ODDS
Bet MGM (as of March 1) has installed Adesanya as the shockingly sizable favorite at -250 even though he's never competed at 205 pounds. Place a bet on "The Last Style Bender" means you'd need to bet $250 to win $100. Meanwhile, Blachowicz is at +210, meaning if you bet $100, you'd net $210.
JAN BLACHOWICZ RECORD AND BIO
- Nationality: Polish
- Born: February 24, 1983
- Height: 6-2
- Reach: 78 inches
- Total fights: 35
- Record: 27-8
ISRAEL ADESANYA RECORD AND BIO
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Born: July 22, 1989
- Height: 6-4
- Reach: 80 inches
- Total fights: 20
- Record: 20-0
UFC 259 FIGHT CARD
Main card
- Jan Błachowicz (c) vs. Israel Adesanya for Blachowicz's Light Heavyweight title
- Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Megan Anderson for Nunes' Women's Featherweight title
- Petr Yan (c) vs. Aljamain Sterling for Yan's Bantamweight title
- Islam Makhachev vs. Drew Dober; Lightweight
- Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakić; Light Heavyweight
Preliminary card
- Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney; Bantamweight
- Song Yadong vs. Kyler Phillips; Bantamweight
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Askar Askarov; Flyweight
- Rogério Bontorin vs. Kai Kara-France; Flyweight
- Lívia Renata Souza vs. Amanda Lemos; Women’s Strawweight
- Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa; Flyweight
- Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Carlos Ulberg; Light Heavyweight
- Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews; Welterweight
- Uroš Medić vs. Aalon Cruz; Lightweight
- Mario Bautista vs. Trevin Jones; Bantamweight