Jan Blachowicz welcomes fight with fellow ex-UFC champion Alex Pereira next: ‘He’s a very big challenge’
Jan Blachowicz would be more than happy to welcome Alex Pereira to 205.
Coming off a disappointing split draw against Magomed Ankalaev in December, Blachowicz is looking for a statement victory in his next appearance, one that would hopefully result in another UFC title opportunity. In an interview with Petesy Carroll on The Craic, Blachowicz discussed the possibility of putting his ‘Polish Power’ on display against Alex Pereira who is slated to make the move to 205 following his second-round knockout loss to long-time rival Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 last weekend.
“He’s a big guy so we will see how he’s going to make it at 205,” Blachowicz said. “This is something I would like to also see because he’s very big. He’s got knockout punch power, but I don’t know how good he is on the ground. How is his ground game? We’ll see if someone takes him down how is he gonna look on the ground, but we’ll see what he’s gonna do. Maybe he wants to stay in [the middleweight division] and try to take the belt back again. We’ll see.”
Jan Blachowicz admitted that Pereira is not necessarily on his radar at the moment given the uncertainty surrounding his next move inside the Octagon, but he’s more than up for the challenge of taking on the Brazilian boogeyman.
“I don’t think about him right now, but yeah. I like challenges,” Blachowicz continued. “He’s a very big challenge. This fight would be very big, very great, so why not, but we’ll see what’s going to be his next move.
A Win over Alex Pereira at 205 Would Likely Guarantee Jan Blachowicz a UFC Title Opportunity
12-6 inside the Octagon, Jan Blachowicz climbed to the top of the mountain with a second-round knockout against Dominick Reyes to capture the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship in 2020. Successfully defending the crown against reigning middleweight king Israel Adesanya, Blachowicz surrendered the title in a UFC 267 scrap with recently retired MMA icon Glover Teixeira.
Jan Blachowicz got back into the win column with a win over fellow top contender Aleksandar Rakic seven months later. The performance would earn him an opportunity to reclaim the 205-pound title, but a lackluster performance against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282 left a bad taste in the mouth of the UFC president. One that will likely keep him out of the title picture, unless he can bag a big win. A victory against someone like Alex Pereira would undoubtedly earn him that opportunity.
