Jan Blachowicz ‘Excited’ About Inflicting Israel Adesanya’s First Defeat
UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has no preference for his next opponent.
Blachowicz was initially expected to defend his crown against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after UFC president Dana White claimed that would be next in the pipeline.
However, White seemingly had a change of heart following Glover Teixeira‘s impressive submission win over Thiago Santos earlier this month to make it four wins in a row.
Nothing is confirmed as of yet.
But when it comes to an Adesanya fight, the wheels were in motion back in September when Blachowicz won the title. And the idea of inflicting Adesanya’s first-ever defeat is something that appeals to the Pole.
“One day after my fight, I knew that they would like to do this fight,” Blachowicz told MMA Fighting. “They text me on the plane when I was on the way home. So I was a little bit surprised but also excited because he is one of the best.
“He never lost a fight in MMA so if they make this fight, I will be the first to beat him and he will remember it for the rest of his life. It will be amazing. Small bonus for me.”
Teixeira recently provided a warning for Adesanya that moving up to 205 will not be the same as middleweight with many differences he may not be ready for.
Blachowicz seems to be in agreement and believes Adesanya would be better off facing a contender first — even if he does rate “The Last Stylebender” highly.
“All my life I’m in this category so I know everything about this category. Everything is different,” Blachowicz said. “Cardio is different. Timing is different. Speed is different. You can train with heavyweight guys, you can train with 205 guys but this is training. A fight is completely different. When guys change their category, they’ve got problems with that, problems with everything. Not everyone can be ready for that. We will see.
“… Maybe Adesanya will be ready for that but I don’t think so. If he wants to make his first fight at 205, with the champion, it’s going to be a problem for him. I think it would better for him, safer for him if he makes first fight with someone from the contenders, not in the top of the rankings but someone from behind.”
As far as who Blachowicz ends up facing next, he has no particular preference.
“We’ll see what the UFC [says], if they tell me you’re next fight is going to be Glover, I will sign that no problem,” he added. “If they tell me your next opponent is Adesanya, I will sign that also. I don’t like to choose. If they want to give me Glover, no problem. If they want to give me Adesanya, no problem.”
Who do you think Blachowicz will face next?
