UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is looking forward to ending Glover Texeira’s career with a war at UFC 266.
Jan Blachowicz is riding high after his unanimous decision win in his first title defense against reigning middleweight king Israel Adesanya. He recently sat down with Submission Radio to discuss his take on many things, notably his second title defense against perennial contender Glover Texeira.
“It’s a pleasure for me that I would be his last fight in his life with me. So, I do the best fight I can do to give it to him. But sorry Glover, I have to knock you out. It’s not my problem.”
Though Texeira has not officially announced that his second title shot will be the last fight of his career, many have speculated that the end is near. Texeira lost his only other title shot to a dominant Jon Jones in his prime back in 2014, losing all five rounds. The loss, his first in the UFC, sparked a choppy few years for Texeira as he went 5-4 in his next nine fights.
Since then, Texeira has rallied in this later chapter of his career. Currently on a five-fight win streak since 2019, Texeira has looked dominant with notable finishes of Anthony Smith(#6) and Thiago Santos(#4). Blachowicz, however, is not intimidated by Texeira’s newfound dominance.
“It’s not a secret. I think he will try to take me down and control me on the ground, finish fight on the ground. 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.”
“I’ll enjoy this fight. I’m excited. He’s a good fighter, lots of experience. He’s older than me (laguhs). He’s a really good fighter with lots of experience, with amazing Jiu Jitsu, with really good wrestling, good boxing style. And also, 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. So, I am excited.”
Although the champ is anticipating a decisive victory, Blachowicz respects the renaissance Texeira has experienced.
“I think he just found a good way how to be in this place where he is right now. He didn’t surrender, he didn’t stop training, he just found maybe a better a way of how to do this. With the age, with the experience, he found what he has to do in the gym, outside the gym to be in this place right now.”
“I think that we’re gonna show the young fighters how real men fight.”
In reflecting on Texeira’s journey, Blachowicz also gave us a glimpse into his own path through the remainder of his career.
“I think I’ve got maybe five fights in my life [left]. We will see.”
“We will see. Maybe the three fights, two fights will be at heavyweight (laughs). I don’t think about this, but when someone asks me, I say two fights in a year. So, something like this. Three, four years of fighting and that’s it, enjoy the life.”
Do you think Jan Blachowicz will knock out Glover Texeira to retain the UFC light heavyweight belt?
UFC light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is willing to do anything to fight Jon Jones, even if that means meeting him at heavyweight. In an interview with RT Sport, Blachowicz was adamant about his continued interest in battling Jones after defeating middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 259. “I can meet him at 205 or at […]