Jan Blachowicz
Poland
Falls in return from long layoff
Blachowicz lost to Carlos Ulberg via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in London.
ANALYSIS
Blachowicz had plenty of things working against him here. He's 42 years old, hadn't fought since July 2023 and was coming off a serious shoulder injury. When you take all that into account, he actually looked fine against a much younger opponent that is likely to fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship sooner rather than later. Neither man accomplished much in what was a low-event bout. Jan's cardio wasn't as strong as usual, and he looked hesitant to let his hands go. He also attempted just one takedown (it failed), and that came in the dying minutes. Maybe things will improve if he comes through this fight healthy and gets more frequent reps inside the Octagon, but that's far from a guarantee given his age and injury history.
Blachowicz had plenty of things working against him here. He's 42 years old, hadn't fought since July 2023 and was coming off a serious shoulder injury. When you take all that into account, he actually looked fine against a much younger opponent that is likely to fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship sooner rather than later. Neither man accomplished much in what was a low-event bout. Jan's cardio wasn't as strong as usual, and he looked hesitant to let his hands go. He also attempted just one takedown (it failed), and that came in the dying minutes. Maybe things will improve if he comes through this fight healthy and gets more frequent reps inside the Octagon, but that's far from a guarantee given his age and injury history.
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Return set for March vs. Ulberg
Blachowicz will take on Carlos Ulberg in a light heavyweight bout at UFC London on March 22, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Blachowicz was forced to step out of his scheduled bout against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 due to shoulder surgery. That fight was slated for Jan. 20, but the Blachowicz has his next match booked. In his last fight, he lost to Alex Pereira via split decision. His opponent Ulberg, meanwhile, is coming off seven straight wins in the UFC.
Blachowicz was forced to step out of his scheduled bout against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 due to shoulder surgery. That fight was slated for Jan. 20, but the Blachowicz has his next match booked. In his last fight, he lost to Alex Pereira via split decision. His opponent Ulberg, meanwhile, is coming off seven straight wins in the UFC.
Out for UFC 297 due to shoulder
Blachowicz announced Thursday via his personal Instagram account that he will require shoulder surgery and has withdrawn from his scheduled light heavyweight bout against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto.
ANALYSIS
The 40-year-old suffered the injury during training and will likely require multiple months of recovery before he's able to compete again, perhaps at some point next summer. The UFC hasn't announced a replacement on the card for Blachowicz, though Rakic has said that he would be open to fighting former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka.
The 40-year-old suffered the injury during training and will likely require multiple months of recovery before he's able to compete again, perhaps at some point next summer. The UFC hasn't announced a replacement on the card for Blachowicz, though Rakic has said that he would be open to fighting former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka.
Set for rematch with Rakic
Blachowicz will fight Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 on Jan. 20, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Blachowicz and Rakic have already faced off once before in May 2022 -- a fight in which Blachowicz won via an injury stoppage. Blachowicz has yet to win a fight since then (0-1-1).
Blachowicz and Rakic have already faced off once before in May 2022 -- a fight in which Blachowicz won via an injury stoppage. Blachowicz has yet to win a fight since then (0-1-1).
Crushing split decision defeat
Blachowicz lost to Alex Pereira via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 28-29) at UFC 291 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
ANALYSIS
This fight was so close that it's difficult to get too worked up about the decision either way. Blachowicz leaned on his wrestling game, as expected. He landed one takedown in each frame. Jan was close to ending the bout on multiple occasions in Round 1 following a pair of deep rear-naked chokes, but Pereira survived. Blachowicz became increasingly less effective as the fight progressed. His cardio, something that isn't typically an issue for Jan, was awful. That could simply have been the result of fighting at altitude. He was also severely hampered by repeated devastating leg kicks from his opponent. Now 40 years of age, this had the feel of a fight Jan couldn't afford to lose. Blachowicz is 1-2-1 in his past four bouts. That's not going going to cut it for an aging veteran, and it likely leaves him out of the title picture for the foreseeable future.
This fight was so close that it's difficult to get too worked up about the decision either way. Blachowicz leaned on his wrestling game, as expected. He landed one takedown in each frame. Jan was close to ending the bout on multiple occasions in Round 1 following a pair of deep rear-naked chokes, but Pereira survived. Blachowicz became increasingly less effective as the fight progressed. His cardio, something that isn't typically an issue for Jan, was awful. That could simply have been the result of fighting at altitude. He was also severely hampered by repeated devastating leg kicks from his opponent. Now 40 years of age, this had the feel of a fight Jan couldn't afford to lose. Blachowicz is 1-2-1 in his past four bouts. That's not going going to cut it for an aging veteran, and it likely leaves him out of the title picture for the foreseeable future.
Slated to face Pereira
Blachowicz will take on Alex Pereira in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City, Shaheed Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com reports Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Blachowicz fought Magomed Ankalaev to a draw in a headlining event in early-December. Now, he'll return to face Alex Pereira, who is coming off a UFC287 defeat to now-champion Israel Adesanya.That fight was for the middleweight title, but Pereira will now be moving up to 205 pounds, and he gets his start against a former champion in Blachowicz.
Blachowicz fought Magomed Ankalaev to a draw in a headlining event in early-December. Now, he'll return to face Alex Pereira, who is coming off a UFC287 defeat to now-champion Israel Adesanya.That fight was for the middleweight title, but Pereira will now be moving up to 205 pounds, and he gets his start against a former champion in Blachowicz.