Polish professional mixed martial artist, Jan Blachowicz, has said that he deserves full respect after beating Nigerian-born UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, in the early hours of today.
Blachowicz, who was a betting underdog against Adesanya, defeated the 31-year-old to retain the light heavyweight title at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 38-year-old pulls away on the scorecards, earning the win by scores of 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45.
Two out of the three judges gave Blachowicz a 10-8 round in Round 5, rewarding him for dominant groundwork, including closing the fight in a mount and dropping heavy punches to the face of the middleweight champ.
“I thought that he would be a little bit faster, but he doesn’t hit so hard,” Blachowicz said after his victory.
“He was slower, but he hit harder, this was something I don’t expect. I should do my left hand a little bit more. I should do more jabs, put more pressure on him. But the game plan is one, and the fight is second a different thing.”
“Now I think I deserve full respect,” Blachowicz added. “I was the true champion before, and I am the true champion now.”
