Oh what a night. That about sums up most people's feelings for UFC 259 on Saturday in Las Vegas as the promotion once again delivered high drama -- and a bit of controversy -- in its latest PPV offering. The card absolutely lived up to the billing and left fans wanting more with knockouts abound on the preliminary card and the trio of title fights all giving us something to talk about.
In the main event, reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya dared to be great and moved up to light heavyweight to challenge 205-pound champion Jan Blachowicz, though the "Last Stylebender" ended up falling just short in joining the history books by becoming the fifth simultaneous double champion in UFC history. In the co-main event, someone who currently resides in that simultaneous champ-champ club, Amanda Nunes, retained her featherweight title in a very Amanda Nunes fashion. The trending topic of the night, however, was the manner in which Aljamain Sterling rose to the top of the bantamweight mountain in the third championship tilt of the evening.
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Below you can find the complete fight card results from Saturday night's action. You will also find our complete coverage for UFC 259 with features, gambling advice and the latest news from Las Vegas.
UFC 259 fight card, results
- Jan Blachowicz (c) def. Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 49-45)
- Amanda Nunes (c) def. Megan Anderson via first-round submission (triangle choke)
- Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan (c) via disqualification (illegal knee)
- Islam Makhachev def. Drew Dober via third-round submission (triangle choke)
- Aleksandar Rakic def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Dominick Cruz def. Casey Kenney via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Kyler Phillips def. Song Yadong via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Askar Askarov def. Joseph Benavidez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Kai Kara-France def. Rogerio Bontorin via first-round TKO (punch)
- Tim Elliott def. Jordan Espinosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
- Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carlos Ulberg via second-round TKO (punches)
- Sean Brady def. Jake Matthews via third-round submission (head and arm choke)
- Amanda Lemos def. Livinha Souza via first-round TKO (punches)
- Uros Medic def. Aalon Cruz via first-round TKO (punches)
- Trevin Jones def. Mario Bautista via second-round TKO (punches)
UFC 259 recap
- Campbell: The five biggest takeaways from a loaded night at the UFC Apex
- Campbell: Why the disqualification rule in title fights needs addressing
UFC 259 countdown
- Complete staff predictions and expert picks for the main card
- Campbell: Adesanya continues ambitious plans for future vs. Blachowicz
- Brookhouse: Finding the three best prop bets to consider for Saturday
- Campbell: Why this may be the perfect time for Anderson to score an upset
- Brookhouse: A break down of every fight scheduled for Saturday night
- Brookhouse: Yan-Sterling is most intriguing fight on the card
- Campbell: Five biggest storylines to follow in Las Vegas
