UFC 253 Results: Israel Adesanya Dominates Paulo Costa in TKO Win

Israel Adesanya added another epic chapter to his legacy with a second-round TKO win over Paulo Costa to close out the show at UFC 253 from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday.

The middleweight title fight, which was the rare matchup of two undefeated fighters in their primes with a genuine disdain for one another, turned out to be fairly one-sided. The first round was fought at a slow pace that favored the more calculating Adesanya.

The champion picked apart the challenger's lead leg from the beginning, quickly leaving marks from multiple leg kicks. With most of the kicks going unchecked and Costa showing little willingness to actually get involved in the fight, Adesanya opened things up in the second round.

The simple leg kicks became a mixture of head kicks and punches. Costa didn't react well to the added pressure, and Adesanya's confidence clearly skyrocketed as he brought the end of the fight as soon as he really started throwing.

It was likely the best performance in a career that has already been full of them for the kingpin of the middleweight division.

Here's a look at the complete results for the evening as well as a closer look at what else went down on the main card.

Main Card

• Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa via TKO at 3:59 of Round 2
• Jan Blachowicz def. Dominick Reyes via TKO at 4:36 of Round 2
• Brandon Royval def. Kai Kara-France via submission (guillotine) at 0:48 of Round 2
• Ketlen Vieira def. Sijara Eubanks via unanimous decision
• Hakeem Dawodu def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision

Prelims

• Brad Riddell def. Alex da Silva Coelho via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Jake Matthews def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
• Ludovit Klein def. Shane Young via KO at 1:16 of Round 1
• William Knight def. Aleksa Camur via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
• Juan Espino def. Jeff Hughes via submission (scarf hold) at 3:48 of Round 1
• Danilo Marques def. Khadis Ibragimov via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)

Jan Blachowicz def. Dominick Reyes

There's a new king of the light heavyweight division. The 205-pound division went from Jon to Jan as Jan Blachowicz took over the throne vacated by Jon Jones with a second-round TKO over Dominick Reyes in the co-main event.

Blachowicz got off to a strong start in the opening round by attacking Reyes' legs and body with kicks. It left a noticeable welt on Reyes' rib cage and a round in the books for the Polish contender.

Once the two actually opened up their offense in the second frame it became clear Blachowicz was the better man on this night. The 37-year-old landed a beautiful hook that floored Reyes and he was quick to follow up with ground strikes and draw the finish.

Blachowicz becomes just the third man to hold the belt since 2011. Jones has long ruled the division and recently relinquished his title, but Blachowicz did his best to goad him into coming back to fight the new champion.

Brandon Royval def. Kai Kara-France

If you find yourself on the ground against Brandon Royval there's a good chance your night is about to take a bad turn. That's the lesson Kai Kara-France learned on Saturday night.

The two flyweights put on one of the best rounds of the night in the opening round. Both fighters connected on shots that looked like they could have ended the fight and both continued to press the action.

However, the second round is where things really went wrong for Kara-France. Royval, who won his UFC debut against Tim Elliott with a second-round submission repeated history with another second-round tapout in his second UFC fight.

This time, it was a guillotine choke that got the job done. Royval has now won eight of his 16 career fights by way of submission.

He's only two fights into his run with the promotion but the finish combined with his striking in Round 1 shows that the 28-year-old could be a legit contender in the 125-pound division.

Ketlen Vieira def. Sijara Eubanks

For the first time in over two years, Ketlen Vieira picked up a win in the Octagon. The Brazilian picked apart Sijara Eubanks over the course of three rounds to get the nod on all three judges' scorecards.

Vieira chose to fight on the outside, control the pace and mix in takedowns in an approach that showed off a comprehensive game. According to ESPN stats, she scored two takedowns to go with her 68 significant strikes which were landed almost exclusively to the head.

Eubanks' attack was much more varied. She landed strikes to the legs and body in hopes of wearing Vieira down but it never paid off as she was mostly kept at bay by the jab and Vieira's higher volume attack.

Vieira has been inactive due to a knee injury and other scheduling issues. Her only fight since 2018 was a first-round knockout loss to Irene Aldana so picking up a win here was crucial.

With that out of the way she may once again become an interesting name to keep an eye on in the bantamweight division.

Hakeem Dawodu def. Zubaira Tukhugov

Hakeem Dawodu kept up his current winning streak, but it was by the thinnest of margins. The 29-year-old had his patience tested by Zubaira Tukhugov in a three-round striking affair that saw him work hard to close the distance and get his work in.

When the two decided to bite down on their mouthpieces and swing, they gave fans some fun exchanges:

Ultimately Dawodu earned the nod from two of the three judges to secure his fifth consecutive win. To make things even better for him, he was awarded a portion of Tukhugov's purse after his opponent failed to make weight.

It's just the Russian's second loss in his UFC career. His only other loss was a split decision to Renato Moicano. This was a missed opportunity, but this is likely not the last we have heard from him.