Nigerian mixed martial arts fighter Israel Adesanya says the size of his opponent Jan Blachowicz played a factor in his loss on Saturday night.
Adesanya suffered his first MMA loss to the Pole in the UFC 259 in Las Vegas. Blachowicz defeated Adesanya 49-46, 49-45, 49-45 to remain the light heavyweight champion.
At 38, the Pole is bigger, more experienced and older than Adesanya, 31. Blachowicz had lost just once in his last nine fights.
When asked if he questioned his decision to fight a much bigger opponent without putting on additional weight, Adesanya told BT Sports: “Never! Never!…I knew what to do and I was trying to do it. The size did play a factor but my technique could have been a lot finer.
“He made me look like I had a bodyguard but I promise you it’s like a bad day in the gym except it’s in the office tonight.”
Adesanya who remains the UFC middleweight champion promised to put up a similar challenge, assuring the fight was not a one-off.
The Nigerian went into the match with an unbeaten 20-0 record to become a two-division champion.
Had Adesanya aka Stylebender been able to defeat Blachowicz, he’d have joined Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo as one of just five fighters in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.
