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The fight heated up in the second, with Blachowicz getting more aggressive with his attacks. Adesanya kept mixing up his strikes, and coupled with his feints, he was keeping Blachowicz off balance. Midway through the round, Blachowicz locked up for the first time with the challenger, but Adesanya broke free quickly and resumed his steady stream of kicks with the occasional punch tossed in. A low kick by Adesanya brought a brief halt to the bout with a little under 90 seconds left, but the fight resumed quickly, Adesanya remaining the busier fighter.
Blachowicz got off to a fast start in round three, landing some hard punches before scoring a brief takedown. That sequence seemed to fire up the challenger, who began scoring with more telling blows. With a little over three minutes left, Blachowicz clinched with Adesanya against the fence, but “The Last Stylebender” stayed busy and broke loose. Down the stretch, each fighter got in solid blows before a late clinch by the champion.
As the fourth began, Blachowicz clinched briefly before landing with a hard right followed by a stiff jab. In the second minute, Adesanya got flat-footed and fired away, but that opened him up for a Blachowicz takedown. Using his size effectively, Blachowicz leaned on Adesanya and got into side control with a little over a minute left. Strikes followed from the Poland native, who kept Adesanya grounded until the horn.
Blachowicz’ jab was sharp early in the fifth round, and Adesanya responded in kind, seemingly the fresher of the two fighters. But midway through the frame, the champion got a much-needed takedown. Adesanya tried to scramble his way free, but Blachowicz wasn’t having it, and he stayed busy, finishing the round on top.
4 – Terrance McKinney vs Matt Frevola
Eight days after an LFA win, newcomer Terrance McKinney made a spectacular short-notice debut in the Octagon, scoring the fourth fastest finish in UFC history with a seven-second finish of Matt Frevola.