Adesanya vows to come back stronger after UFC 259 defeat

Israel Adesanya vowed to come back stronger yesterday following his first professional defeat in MMA, as he concentrates on dominating back at middleweight.

Unbeaten in 20 fights, the middleweight champion was attempting to become only the fifth UFC athlete to hold two belts simultaneously when he stepped into the headline bout at UFC 259 against light heavyweight title-holder Jan Blachowicz.

However, the giant Pole saw off his Nigerian-born rival by unanimous decision at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, even if the 49-46, 49-45, 49-45 scores seemed wildly exaggerated.

Adesanya, a former kickboxing champion who has also competed in boxing, said: “Losses are part of life. Losses are something I deal with occasionally. Just this is my first one in MMA. As I say, it is what it is. If I was going to lose to anyone, what better guy to lose to than a guy like Jan?

“He’s a classy champion, a cool dude, a very nice guy ... Yeah, if I was going to lose to anyone, I’m glad I lost to him.

“No regrets,” Adesanya added when asked about going to light heavyweight. “I feel like the boxing model has made it a bad thing to lose. Yeah, it sucks losing – don’t get me wrong. But it’s not like the end of the world.

However, while Adesanya said he would return to middleweight – he had like to take on Liverpool’s Darren Till there – he plans to “definitely” step up again to light heavyweight.

He also did not rule out a potential super-fight against rival Jon Jones at heavyweight. “Never say never,” Adesanya said. “But right now, I’m going back down to 185 [lbs] and getting my work done.”