UFC 259: Israel Adesanya's height advantage looks significant next to Jan Blachowicz

Israel Adesanya might be giving twenty-plus pounds worth of size advantage to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, but Stylebender has a significant height advantage over the light heavyweight champion.

The middleweight champion recently posted a photo of him standing alongside Jan Blachowicz during UFC 259 fight week on his Instagram story. Adesanya's pronounced height advantage over the champion is noticeable and it can play a major role in their fight on March 6.

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While speaking to ESPN's Ariel Helwani earlier in the UFC 259 fight week, Israel Adesanya teased that he could potentially weigh in at 193lbs for his scheduled light heavyweight title fight against champion Jan Blachowicz, 12lbs below the divisional limit. Jan Blachowicz is a big light heavyweight who usually weighs around 220lbs or more on the fight night.

However, height and reach are the balancing factors that can potentially negate the size disadvantage for the stylebender. Israel Adesanya (6ft 4in tall) has a two-inch height advantage over Jan Blachowicz (6ft 2in tall) and also enjoys a slightly longer 80-inch reach compared to Blachowicz's 78-inch. A two-inch advantage may not seem a lot on paper but Israel Adesanya fights long and has the ability to maximize the slightest of advantage to his benefit.

UFC 253 Adesanya v Costa

How do the physical attributes translate for Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz?

Israel Adesanya vs Jan Blachowicz is a battle of styles. Adesanya has a formidable kickboxing background. He relies on speed, footwork, movement, and counter punching along with range management to inflict damage on his opponents. Jan Blachowicz is a less technical but a lot more powerful puncher. The key to Blachowicz's victory lies in pressuring Adesanya to restrict his movement to land power shots, get dominant positions in the clinch and on the mat.

Adesanya's height and reach advantage will allow him to stay away from Blachowicz's power shots while lesser bodyweight will give a pronounced speed advantage to get in and out of range. To pressure Adesanya and control him in the grappling exchanges, Jan Blachowicz will have to be the more physical and stronger fighter between the two. That is where Blachowicz's size advantage will come into play.

Israel Adesanya vs Jan Blachowicz will headline UFC 259 PPV event scheduled to take place on March 6, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Blachowicz will attempt the first successful defense of his light heavyweight title since winning the vacant spot at UFC 253 in 2020. Israel Adesanya is the reigning UFC middleweight champion who will attempt to become the fifth simultaneous two-division champion in the promotion's history.