Las Vegas, NV — UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has never been a big talker. That hasn’t changed now that he’s champ. Nor has the feeling or emotions heading into a fight, it seems.
Speaking at the UFC 259 pre-fight press conference this week, Poland’s Blachowicz (27-8), a former KSW champion, said simply that “I’m just happy I can defend my belt against someone like Israel [Adesanya]. I’m happy, I’m excited, I cannot wait to step into the octagon and start fighting against him.”
The 38-year old heavy hitter knows that while he may have a power advantage, Adesanya is capable of turning the lights out as well. “I’ll try to knock him out, and defend myself the best I can,” said Blachowicz. “I’ll try to use all my power, my weight, my wrestling to take him down, or just knock him out. We’ll see.”
“But he’s a really good striker,” added Blachowicz. “So I have to watch for everything. Because also, he can knock me out.” The UFC champ has been knocked out just once in his career, a TKO at the hands of Thiago Santos (discounting a leg injury TKO against Sokoudjou in 2011).
In the meantime, talks swirl about Adesanya’s next move if he were to claim a second title on Saturday. Could a move to heavyweight follow for a showdown with Jon Jones? It seems insane, given Adesanya weighed in under the light heavyweight limit at Friday morning’s weigh-in. Or perhaps he could lure Jones back to 205.
What about Blachowicz, however? The most dangerous fighter is often the overlooked one. Asked about his own future plans, and the idea of a heavyweight jump, Blachowicz downplayed the sugggestion. “I don’t think right now about heavyweight. I think about 205, I’ll defend my belt on Saturday, then after, again in 205. So we’ll see. First of all, I have to win against Israel.”
Jan Blachowicz defends his light heavyweight title against middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 this Saturday, March 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
