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The dominant UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya entered the light heavyweight division to face its champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
Following his UFC middleweight title defense against Paulo Costa, there was little left for him to prove in this division. But the move to the higher weight class did not go the way 'Stylebender' wanted.
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The Nigerian native was handed his first MMA defeat by his Polish opponent. Blachowicz was the shorter fighter at a two-inch reach disadvantage even though the fight was in a higher weight class. Hence, he was expected to lose the same way Adesanya's previous opponents had.
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With Adesanya's use of distance management complemented by his height and reach, it was speculated that Blachowicz's only path to victory was through grappling as he was the bigger fighter among the two.
However, the outcome of the fight was totally different. Jan Blachowicz not only out-grappled Adesanya but also out-struck him. Blachowicz saw through all of Izzy's cards. The light heavyweight champion exposed the flaws in Adesanya's striking as no other fighter had done before. The fight went to the end of the fifth round, and Blachowicz was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
If a rematch between the two UFC champions is booked, there are some changes Adesanya needs to make to emerge victorious against the Polish powerhouse.
Here are 3 changes Israel Adesanya should make to defeat Jan Blachowicz in a rematch:
3) Adesanya needs to gain muscle
Before his fight with Blachowicz, Adesanya had chosen not to bulk up for the light heavyweight fight. He went into the fight with his walk-around weight, where he did not make any effort to gain some good weight in the form of more muscle.
His coach Eugene Bareman was seen in an interview explaining why. He said:
"We're hoping that it gives us the advantages that we need to win the fight rather than stack on some muscle. I don't think with any amount of time and any amount of weight that Israel could put on, I don't think he's ever going to be stronger than Jan. So we've decided, let's not get stronger than Jan, lets's use that time for better suited endeavors."
To make the fact that he did not gain any muscle for this fight more evident, he weighed in at under 201lbs and posed with a pizza in his hand during the weigh-ins.
Indeed, Adesanya could not have become stronger than his Polish opponent in the time between the date the fight was announced and the date of the actual fight. It is also true that the Nigerian would have faced trouble in using his movement-centric fighting style had he gained too much muscle.
However, not bulking up at all led to Adesanya not meeting the basic threshold for power in the light heavyweight division.
In the fight itself, Adesanya's strikes had little effect against Blachowicz, while the Polish champion landed some heavy shots on Adesanya. It was visible that Adesanya had trouble taking Blachowicz's strikes, something he'd not have trouble with had he packed on some muscle of his own.
Even when Blachowicz landed takedowns on Adesanya a few times, the latter was unable to escape from the bottom position. This could well be credited with the weight difference between the two and the lack of heavier lifting on Adesanya's part.
In the end, the decision not to bulk up proved to work against the Nigerian fighter.
2) Adesanya needs to improve his takedown defense and wrestling
Adesanya prides himself on using his grappling skills defensively. Due to his nearly flawless takedown defense, he has rarely been seen on the ground. In the rare cases where he did get taken down, 'Stylebender' has found his way back to his feet pretty quickly.
However, in the fight against Blachowicz, the Polish fighter took Adesanya down on more than one count after seeing the chink in his armor. The takedowns were successful because he attempted them only when Adesanya committed too much to his strikes.
Blachowicz, being the heavier fighter of the two, was also able to keep Adesanya on the ground for a significant amount of time after landing the takedowns.
In a rematch, we can be sure that the Polish fighter will be more successful at landing takedowns if Adesanya does not work on his takedown defense and overall wrestling abilities. The fight could see Blachowicz finish the job through ground and pound or submission if 'The Last Stylebender' doesn't improve his grappling.
1) Land blows after establishing leg reach
In their previous fight, Adesanya threw out several long-reaching punches on Blachowicz only to miss several times.
Blachowicz went into Adesanya's reach while being ready with an answer to Adesanya's counter each time. The moment Blachowicz stepped too close, Adesanya was seen reacting with punches and sometimes with kicks that are supposed to hit the opponent from their sides, such as a leg kick or a roundhouse kick. In both cases, Blachowicz had an answer.
The most effective component missing in Adesanya's arsenal here was the adequate use of thrust kicks like teeps, sidekicks, back kicks to the body, or in some cases to the head.
Because the legs are a fighter's longest weapon, thrust kicks allow one to keep the opponent at a safer distance than what a punch would allow. In addition, the pushback from these kicks forces the opponent further behind, thereby nullifying any offensive ability a shorter opponent would have.
Hence, the use of such kicks when the Polish fighter tried getting too close would be more effective than what Adesanya was seen doing against Blachowicz's entries in their previous fight.
These kicks would also frustrate a shorter opponent and make them lose their rhythm. As a result of the frustration and lost rhythm, the shorter opponent is bound to act irrationally and make unrealistic attacks, thus giving the taller fighter openings to either land strikes multiple times or a finishing blow. UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson, a tall fighter in his own division, uses this strategy all the time.
Adesanya has a longer reach than Blachowicz and could use this strategy to great effect in a potential rematch.
