Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz will return to the Octagon to defend his 205-pound title against longtime division contender Glover Teixeira at the UFC 266 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sept. 4.
Take notes, young bucks.
The power punching Pole believes his showdown against the Brazilian veteran — no stranger to title bouts — will serve as the blueprint for how real men fight, thanks in part to Teixeira’s motivation to finish his career as champion.
“I’ll enjoy this fight, I’m excited,” Blachowicz told Submission Radio. “He’s a good fighter, lots of experience. I think he’s gonna be the best version of himself in this fight, because maybe this is going to be his last test for the title. Maybe also one of the last fights in his career. So, I think he’s gonna do everything to beat me, and I have to be ready for this. I think that we’re gonna show the young fighters how real men fight.”
Blachowicz (28-8) captured the vacant crown by smashing Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 back in late 2020, then scored a successful title defense against middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya earlier this year, earning his respect along the way.
“I think people started to respect [me] – not start, they respect me,” Blachowicz continued. “They know that I’m the true champion right now. You see what Jon Jones is doing, nobody knows what is in his head right now. Maybe he will not fight anymore because he thinks that he’s not so good. No, he is so good, but we catch his level and even we are now much better than he was. And I think he knows. That’s why he doesn’t want to fight anymore. I think that. But we will see. But like I said before, people started to treat me, they treat me like a true champion. I am a true champion. I am happy about that.”
Teixeira (32-7), who turns 42 this fall, has rattled off five straight wins in the 205-pound weight class with four of them ending by way of knockout or submission. The Brazilian’s UFC 266 title fight will come more than seven years after his first crack at the light heavyweight crown, which took place against Jon Jones in early 2014.
“I think he will try to take me down and control me on the ground, finish fight on the ground,” Blachowicz said. “And my gameplan will be to keep fighting, stand up and try to knock him out. And I will try to do this. Watch out for his boxing skills. But if he takes me down, I will try to stand up. But also my Jiu Jitsu is really good. So, I will not panic. If I get a chance to submit him, I will try to do this, because my Jiu Jitsu is really good. But either way, I will try to keep fighting in the stand-up and try to find a way to knock him out.”
A city and venue for UFC 266 have yet to be revealed.