Former UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz says anyone could’ve beat him at UFC 267, not just Glover Teixeira.
Blachowicz shockingly fell to Teixeira in the main event of UFC 267 by second-round submission, after appearing hesitant with his striking in the opening minutes of the fight. After suffering some hard ground-and-pound at the end of Round 1, Blachowicz was choked out by the veteran Teixeira in Round 2.
It was a surprising win for Teixeira, who was seen as a relative afterthought at this stage in his career by many. During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Blachowicz explained what led to him losing his 205-pound title.
“I shouldn’t have fought that night. What can I do?” Blachowicz said. “I can just get back to the training, back to the gym. Trying harder and just trying to get the belt back. That’s it. I’m not gonna be sad because I don’t want to waste my life on something like this… Do a little bit of break, was on a vacation. That [UFC 267] was just a bad day for me. I think I would have lost to anybody that night. I don’t want to explain myself. It wasn’t my night you know. Sometimes I need something like this. I need to take one step back to do two forward. I learned something from this fight and I’m gonna be a better fighter.”
Jan Blachowicz’s Loss To Glover Teixeira Snapped A Five Fight Winning Streak
Blachowicz earned the vacant light heavyweight title over Dominick Reyes at UFC 253, knocking him out in the second round of the bout. He would then defend his title against middleweight champ Israel Adesanya before ultimately losing it to Teixeira.
Blachowicz is targeting a return to the octagon sometime in the first quarter of 2022, with many possible opponents to match up with. Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith has called for a fight with Blachowicz, and the timing would make a lot of sense for both sides.
Teixeira will most likely face Jiri Prochazka for his first title defense at a later date.
What do you think should be next for Jan Blachowicz?