Israel Adesanya Edges Yoel Romero, Retains Title in Action-Starved UFC 248 Headliner
The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 248 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.
Israel Adesanya might not have won himself any new fans at UFC 248, but he walked out of the Octagon with his undefeated record and championship reign intact.
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“It was a hard fight, but I did what I had to do,” Adesanya said as boos rained down into the Octagon. “You can see he’s gonna be limping after this. He touched me in the first round, and that was the hardest shot I took. I did what I had to do to win that fight.”
Early on, Adesanya (19-0, 8-0 UFC) seemed mesmerized by the Romero
(13-5, 9-4 UFC) mystique. The Nigerian-born Kiwi was hesitant to
engage, and Romero authored the bout’s most significant moments
with brief explosive attacks in the early stanzas. As time wore on,
however, Adesanya began to pick his opponent apart, with stinging
leg kicks in particular taking their toll on “The Soldier of God.”
Romero increased his urgency in the fight’s waning moments, but
Adesanya’s ability to control the range and choose his spots to
attack made the difference in a fight that was more tactical than
anticipated.
According to Adesanya, his approach was all part of the game plan.
“He plays the game and lulls,” Adesanya said. “I was hoping to touch him a little more but unfortunately it’s hard to engage with someone who doesn’t want to dance.”
Zhang Defends Strawweight Title in Instant Classic
On a night when the first meeting between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson was announced as an entrant into the UFC Hall of Fame “Fight Wing,” Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk virtually assured themselves of their own induction somewhere down the line.
In a bout that was instantly being hailed as the greatest female fight in promotion history as soon as the final horn sounded, Zhang (21-1, 5-0 UFC) retained her strawweight crown with a grueling — and enthralling — split-decision triumph over Jedrzejczyk (17-3, 10-4 UFC) in the evening’s co-headliner. Judges Michael Bell and Derek Cleary scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Zhang, while Eric Colon had it 48-47 for the former strawweight queen. When both fighters are recovered, perhaps a rematch could be in store.
“I wasn’t really sure (what the scorecards would say), but I got it,” Zhang said through a translator. “It was a great performance.”
Each round was closely contested, but it was the power of Zhang that proved to be the difference. The Chinese champion did significant damage with her straight right and left hook, forming a freakish hematoma on Jedrzejczyk’s forehead and mangling her Polish opponent’s nose. Through it all, Jedrzejczyk never backed down, as she landed plenty of offense of her own, often punctuating her combinations with kicks. In defeat, the American Top Team product falls to 6-4 in UFC title bouts.
“She did great. There was something missing, but I felt all the punches,” Jedrzejczyk said. “The swelling was bothering me. Congrats champ, and I’m very happy that we gave a good fight.”
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Dariush Hands Klose First KO Defeat in Slugfest
Beneil Dariush shifted gears from grappler to striker the span of a round, and that transition spelled doom for Drakkar Klose. The Kings MMA product finished off a wild slugfest with a vicious overhand left that jarred Klose’s mouthpiece loose and sent him tumbling to the floor unconscious just 60 seconds into the second round of an entertaining lightweight scrap.
Dariush (18-4-1, 12-4-1) appeared intent on scoring a submission win in Round 1, as he hopped on Klose’s back and hunted for a rear-naked choke for the majority of the period. Klose (11-2-1, 5-2 UFC) managed to survive until the horn, and he briefly had his foe reeling after landing a couple clean right hands early in the second stanza. However, Klose’s reckless aggression ultimately cost him, as Dariush put him on skates with a counter right hand and then put him away for good moments later.
It was the first time Klose has been finished in 14 professional outings.
Magny Returns from Layoff, Dominates ‘The Leech’
Neil Magny doesn’t know the definition of ring rust.
In his first fight since November 2018, the Elevation Fight Team representative cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Jingliang Li, sweeping the scorecards by identical 30-27 counts in a welterweight matchup. Magny (22-7, 15-6) is now tied for the third most wins in UFC history in the weight class, trailing only Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes.
“The last 16 months I was in a real low spot. Being able to come out and get this victory feels great. I’m so happy to be back,” Magny said.
Li (17-6, 9-4 UFC) briefly rocked Magny upon breaking from the clinch in Round 1, but that was about the only moment of note for “The Leech.” The rest of the contest was a clinic by Magny, who used rangy striking, close-quarters knees, suffocating clinch work and airtight takedown defense to confound his Chinese opponent. Li saw a three-fight winning streak come to an end in defeat.
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Oliveira Takes Bloody Split Verdict Over Griffin
Alex Oliveira halted a three-fight skid, battering and bloodying Max Griffin en route to a split-decision triumph in a featured welterweight affair. Two judges submitted 29-28 scorecards in favor of the Brazilian “Cowboy,” while a third saw the fight 29-28 for Griffin, who has lost four of his last five Octagon appearances.
Griffin (15-8, 3-6 UFC) started well enough, as he snapped his foe’s head back with a right hand in the opening stanza before spending much of the frame in top position. Oliveira (21-8, 2 NC, 10-6, 1 NC UFC) took over in Round 2, when he landed an uppercut that opened Griffin up near his right eye. With Griffin’s vision compromised, Oliveira kept the pressure on the rest of the period, attacking with straight right hands, front kicks and vicious low kicks. Round 3 was the most competitive frame, with Oliveira gaining full mount early only to be reversed by Griffin in the second half of the stanza. While Griffin ended the contest on top, he likely didn’t land enough offense from the position to get the nod.
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