UFC 248 Recap: Adesanya Retains Title in Unusual Bout…

UFC 248 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 7, 2020, with two championship bouts at the top of the card. Israel Adesanya retained the middleweight title against Yoel Romero, while Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk delivered the evening’s standout contest for the women’s strawweight championship.

Zhang and Jedrzejczyk deliver five demanding rounds

Zhang’s first title defense became a sustained exchange of combinations, kicks and counters. Jedrzejczyk challenged the champion’s pace and accuracy, and neither fighter allowed the other to establish comfortable control for long. After five rounds, Zhang retained the belt by split decision.

The closeness of the result mattered, but so did the fight’s quality. The co-main event gave spectators an extended championship battle in which both athletes kept answering difficult moments. It remains the fight that most clearly explains UFC 248’s place in the promotion’s history.

Adesanya retains in a cautious main event

The headliner developed much more slowly. Romero often waited for opportunities to counter, while Adesanya used distance and low kicks rather than repeatedly stepping into heavy exchanges. Their approach produced long stretches of limited activity.

Adesanya won a unanimous decision and retained the undisputed middleweight championship. The result was decisive on the official record even though the fight itself drew criticism for its pace. Describing the title defense accurately means acknowledging both the winner and the limited action.

Dariush and O’Malley supply the finishes

Beneil Dariush recovered from trouble to knock out Drakkar Klose in the second round. Sean O’Malley stopped Jose Quinonez in his return, while Rodolfo Vieira and Gerald Meerschaert won by submission.

Neil Magny and Alex Oliveira earned welterweight decisions. Mark O. Madsen, Giga Chikadze and Danaa Batgerel added preliminary victories. The complete 11-fight card combined a memorable strawweight championship contest with finishes and competitive decisions across several divisions.

Complete UFC 248 results

• Israel Adesanya def. Yoel Romero — unanimous decision, R5, 5:00; retained middleweight title.
• Zhang Weili def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk — split decision, R5, 5:00; retained women’s strawweight title.
• Beneil Dariush def. Drakkar Klose — KO (punch), R2, 1:00.
• Neil Magny def. Li Jingliang — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Alex Oliveira def. Max Griffin — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Sean O’Malley def. Jose Quinonez — TKO (head kick and punches), R1, 2:02.
• Mark O. Madsen def. Austin Hubbard — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Rodolfo Vieira def. Saparbek Safarov — submission (arm-triangle choke), R1, 2:58.
• Gerald Meerschaert def. Deron Winn — submission (rear-naked choke), R3, 2:13.
• Giga Chikadze def. Jamall Emmers — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Danaa Batgerel def. Guido Cannetti — KO (punches), R1, 3:01.

Sources

UFC 248 official results; Sherdog: UFC 248 complete event record.

Article Tags

UFC, UFC 248, Mixed Martial Arts