Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Newly crowned light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is looking for his first title defense. But not against any of the potential LHW top contenders.
By most accounts, it seems like the UFC should have a next contender at light heavyweight lined up soon. The promotion has a bout lined up between no. 4 ranked Glover Teixeira & no. 2 ranked Thiago Santos for just next week. Santos, should he win, already even has a victory over current champ, Jan Blachowicz. That failing, there’s also a recently announced fight between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka set for early next year. Should Prochazka win that fight, he might just rocket himself to immediate contention. And there’s always the potential for Aleksandar Rakic to make some noise.
Still, none of those options are half as tantalizing as the idea of a champ vs. champ fight between Blachowicz and middleweight king Israel Adesanya. Especially not if you’re the recently crowned Polish king. The former KSW title holder made a somewhat shocking late career run to the UFC belt, snatching a 2nd round TKO over Dominick Reyes just back in September—at the age of 37. If he’s going to make some real money, battles with name opponents probably need to happen sooner rather than later.
Perhaps that’s why Blachowicz took to Twitter earlier this week to push for a potential bout with the ‘Last Stylebender.’
I have heard that Israel Adesanya wants to face me next. No problem, If you are ready to fight in March, let’s do this. Prepare for a some fireworks guys #LegendaryPolishPower
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) October 29, 2020
Unbeaten to date in his MMA career, Adesanya is fresh off a crushing 2nd round TKO victory over Paulo Costa back in September—to claim his second title defense. With the recent MW bookings falling the way they have, the UFC has essentially left themselves with a rematch against Whittaker as the only sensible next title fight at 185 lbs for the City Kickboxing talent. But, speaking recently to the media, Dana White has suggested that Adesanya, in fact, “has a lot of options right now.”
Could that mean a bout against Blachowicz? Or a light heavyweight fight with Jon Jones that cuts the Polish champ out of the picture altogether? Time will tell. In the meantime, it’ll be up to the light heavyweight field of contenders to make their case that they should be the only realistic next option for gold.