Jan Balashowitz wants to return the gold to Poland.
It may seem strange to realize that the favorite fighter’s son of Poland has fought with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title on the line in four of his last five bouts. In September 2020, Blachowicz, 40, turned back the clock, defeating Dominic Reyes via a second-round technical knockout with punches to claim the vacant belt. He once successfully defended against middleweight roster, Israel Adesanya, and is now looking to give another 185-pounder a notable loss on his way back to championship status.
Blachowicz welcomes recently ousted middleweight champion Alex Pereira to 205 pounds at UFC 291 co-main event on July 29, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The promotion still hopes the current champion, Jamaal Hill, will defend against Jerry Prochazka, but according to Blachowicz, a win would give him a date with the reigning champion.
“If I win the fight, my next fight will be for the title,” said Blachowicz. MMA watch. “It’s a bigger motivator for me, and thanks to Alex he moved into our class – fresh blood.
“I would like to know where I am now,” he concluded. “It’s good for me that after this fight my next title fight will be. I’m happy to take the belt back to Poland.”
The bout could be a small redemption for Blachowicz even though he never fought Pereira. When the Pole lost his title in October 2021, Pereira’s mentor and teammate, Glover Teixeira, would stand in his way, who would be in the Brazilian’s corner, helping him in the match.
Pereira’s transition to light heavyweight in mixed martial arts (MMA) felt inevitable after his nine-fight stretch (7-2) at middleweight. Poatan noted when announcing the change that he hasn’t necessarily lifted 185 pounds yet, but feels the move is the best for him at the moment.
“When I heard he was coming to our division, I just want to fight against him,” said Balashović. “I talked to my managers and they made this fight, it was easy. Yeah, I said, ‘Okay, give it to me.’ And why not?”
“maybe [the UFC would have made this fight anyway]. Maybe they had an idea. But I’m glad I got what I wanted.
He continued, “He’s a very big guy.” “I think it was a natural way for him to go up, but maybe in the future, he’ll come back for another fight with Adesanya. We’ll see. I’m just glad I can fight him in my league, so he should be ready for the legendary Polish powerhouse.”