Champ vs. champ: Jan Blachowicz puts up light heavyweight title vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 259

A champion-vs.-champion fight will go down in March when reigning UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz puts his belt on the line against middleweight king Israel Adesanya, who looks for a second belt.

Blachowicz (27-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) have agreed to clash in the UFC 259 headliner on March 6. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a person close to the situation Wednesday after Dana White announced the news to promotional partner ESPN.

UFC 259 does not yet have an official location or venue. The main card is set to stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Blachowicz will look to make his first 205-pound title defense a good one after capturing the belt that was vacated by Jon Jones in August. The Polish fighter upset noted favorite Dominick Reyes with a second-round knockout at UFC 253 on Sept. 26, putting UFC gold around his waist for the first time at age 36.

He’ll attempt to use his “Polish power” to great effect once again against Adesanya, who will attempt to become the eighth fighter in UFC history to capture titles in two weight divisions. He would be the first, however, to do it at middleweight and light heavyweight.

The reigning 185-pound king has teased the idea of moving up for more than a year, but many believed it would be for a superfight against Jones. That won’t be the case, as he will instead challenge Blachowicz after earning a pair of title defenses in 2020 against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.

The latest UFC 259 lineup now includes:

• Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya – for light heavyweight title
• Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
• Aleksandar Rakic vs. Thiago Santos
• Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
• Askar Askarov vs. Joseph Benavidez
• Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews
• Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones
• Aalon Cruz vs. Uros Medic
• Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa