Jan Blachowicz refuses to be passed up for the next shot at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight gold.
Come October 2022, the man with the legendary Polish power will have been without his title for a full year. Dropping his crown to Glover Teixeira via second round rear-naked choke submission at UFC 267 (watch highlights), Blachowicz has since rebounded with a technical knockout win over Aleksandar Rakic in May 2022 (watch highlights). However, that victory came less than conventionally.
Blachowicz’s victory over Rakic came as a result of the Austria native’s inability to continue after a second round knee injury occurred. Regardless, Blachowicz feels it’s still enough to warrant him another crack at the title and he remains unhappy with the current champion, Jiri Prochazka, going back on his word following his UFC 275 coronation in June 2022.
“Facts: As a first male fighter in Poland I became the UFC Champ,” Blachowicz tweeted today (Tues., Aug. 9, 2022). “Because of my work my name garners respect. Never shied away from any challenge. I went to the UFC to create great moments for the fans. I’m not done yet.
“@danawhite – no bullshit, no politics, no nonsense,” he continued. “Give me Prochazka and I’ll give you the biggest MMA fight in Europe’s history. Unlike him I always keep my word.”
Czech Republic’s Prochazka has recently shared that he would like to rematch Teixeira, who he won the title off of, in an effort to put on a cleaner performance than he did the first go-around. Among other top contenders, Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill are also making strong cases for the next title shot but there’s yet to be any real clarity in terms of where things will go next.