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With three title fights on tap, UFC 259 was one of the most highly-anticipated UFC cards in some time, and boy did it deliver. All three UFC title fights were explosive in their own right, and we got plenty of action on the undercard. But who were the night’s biggest winners?
It’s a fair question to ask. After all, Aljamain Sterling is the new UFC Bantamweight champion. But given he won the title by DQ after being knocked out, it’s almost hard to see him as a big winner.
But the following five fighters definitely came away with both momentum and glory with their victories last night.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC 259.
#1 Jan Blachowicz – defeated Israel Adesanya to defend the UFC Light Heavyweight title
Last night’s biggest winner was comfortably UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
After claiming the vacant title in 2020 by knocking out Dominick Reyes, Blachowicz gained plenty of plaudits. Despite this, many observers felt he was a sitting duck against UFC Middleweight champ Israel Adesanya last night.
Sure, Blachowicz was physically the bigger man. But Adesanya was unbeaten in the UFC and looked like the most dangerous striker in the promotion.
Essentially, this felt like a modern version of Anderson Silva’s easy win over Forrest Griffin. But Blachowicz proved he’s no Forrest.
He kept Adesanya honest in the early going, never letting him settle into a striking rhythm. And when the fight got to the latter stages, Blachowicz showed off his wrestling chops. The Pole took down The Last Stylebender and worked him over to ensure the result wasn’t in doubt.
Whether Blachowicz can now hold onto the title against rising contenders like Aleksandar Rakic, Jiri Prochazka, and Magomed Ankalaev is another question entirely.
But for now, at least, the Polish fighter sits atop of the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division. He’ll be a bigger star for this win, and he’s definitely earned it.
#2 Amanda Nunes – defeated Megan Anderson to defend the UFC Featherweight title
Nobody really expected Megan Anderson to dethrone Amanda Nunes for the UFC Featherweight title last night. If she’d have pulled it off, it would’ve been an all-time great UFC upset.
But few people could’ve seen Nunes being quite so dominant over the giant Australian.
The Lioness came out aggressively and had Anderson hurt with the first strikes she threw. And when it was clear that the challenger’s legs were gone, Nunes took her down and showed exactly why she’s the best female fighter in MMA history.
Within seconds of the fight hitting the ground, Nunes had Anderson trapped in a beautiful triangle/armbar combination. And sure enough, the Australian was quickly forced to tap out.
Basically, this was business as usual for one of the most dominant UFC champs of all time.
Who’s next for Nunes? Who cares.
At this stage, she’s in the same realm as other legendary UFC champions like Anderson Silva once were. It’s worth watching her crush overmatched foes purely to see greatness in action.
Few fighters reach that stage – the stage where history is made every time they fight. And so it’d be impossible not to call Nunes one of UFC 259’s biggest winners.
#3 Islam Makhachev – defeated Drew Dober
With so much hype behind him coming into UFC 259, it would’ve been easy for Islam Makhachev to slip up.
Faced with an underrated and unheralded opponent in Drew Dober, the pressure was on Makhachev. But the Dagestani delivered a tremendous performance. He dominated Dober in all facets of the fight en route to a third-round submission win.
Makhachev has already been labeled the “new Khabib,” and a performance like this definitely won’t slow the hype train down.
With arguably the best grappling game in the UFC Lightweight division – a division largely filled with strikers – the sky is the limit for the Dagestan native.
Quite who the UFC matches him with next is a massive question, as it’s likely that many fighters will want to avoid him.
However, his name is now on the radar of UFC fans across the planet, all of whom will be clamoring to see him again.
In a night of plenty of big winners, Makhachev was definitely one of the biggest.
#4 Dominick Cruz – defeated Casey Kenney
The UFC has made a habit of cutting some of its fallen legends from their contracts recently, with Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem being the latest to leave the promotion.
Given his commentating deal with the UFC, Dominick Cruz is probably safer than most. But the former UFC Bantamweight champ still had his back to the wall in last night’s fight with Casey Kenney.
After all, the last time he won a UFC fight was June 2016 – nearly half a decade ago!
But The Dominator pulled off a win last night, outpointing Casey Kenney in what was probably a slightly trickier fight than Cruz might’ve expected.
Cruz is never going to be the best Bantamweight in the UFC again now. At 35 years old, he’s simply too shopworn to get back to the top.
But last night proved he’s still got plenty to offer and isn’t in danger of slipping entirely out of relevancy any time soon.
It should be interesting to see who the UFC matches him with next, but for now, Cruz is a big winner.
#5 Askar Askarov – defeated Joseph Benavidez
With new champion Deiveson Figueiredo apparently ready to run through potential contenders as quickly as possible, the UFC Flyweight division is clearly crying out for new challengers to rise up the ranks.
Faced with his toughest test to date in the form of Joseph Benavidez, Askar Askarov proved that he could be one of those contenders last night.
Askarov looked fantastic, beating Benavidez down in a one-sided decision, and he should climb the rankings after his win.
Sure, Benavidez is clearly diminished at this point, but a win over him still carries more weight than a win over any other opponent in this division.
If Figueiredo deals with Brandon Moreno in a few months, then it’d be easy to see Askarov claiming the next shot at him. This was a great night for the native of Dagestan.
