Jan Blachowicz knew Israel Adesanya would be his next opponent.
After Blachowicz TKO’d Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 to become the new light heavyweight champion, and Adesanya beat Paulo Costa on the same card, the promotion was quick to offer the fight. Not even a full day went past and Dana White and company were suggesting that the fight could headline UFC 256. But, with a baby on the way, Blachowicz asked for the contest to take place in March.
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“Not right after the fight. But, eight hours after the event I knew they would make this fight,” Jan Blachowicz said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “The UFC sent me a message asked if I wanted to fight against Adesanya in December when I was on the plane back to Poland a couple of hours later. I knew he would be my opponent but not in December, I wanted March.”
Now that the two are set to square off, Jan Blachowicz knows he is being counted out by everyone. He is also an underdog again and hopes if he beats Adesanya at UFC 259 he can finally get the respect he deserves.
“It is a good matchup for me,” Blachowicz explained. “I’m an underdog like always but I don’t care. When I win this fight, I prove to people that I deserve respect. A lot of people still don’t believe in me.”
Although Blachowicz is the betting underdog, the champion knows he poses a lot of problems for Adesanya. He knows “The Last Stylebender” will be faster than him, but he is confident his power, body kicks, and timing will be a factor in the scrap.
“At 205 we have different power, different timing, everything is different,” Blachowicz said. “We will see how he will fight at 205. He will be faster than me, but speed is not everything. I have something for him, I am preparing something nice for him.”
In the fight, Jan Blachowicz knows he will be stronger than Adesanya and hinted at having a wrestling heavy gameplan. However, he knows his best attribute is his striking so he will mix things up and eventually land something big and show Adesanya his Legendary Polish Power.
“We do a lot of wrestling so maybe I will take him down. But, I like fighting standup, every fight starts standing,” Jan Blachowicz said. “If I have a chance to take him down I will do it. I watched the fight in kickboxing where he got knocked out many times. I will use my striking to knock him out. It’s part of my game plan but you will have to wait until to see the fight. He will feel the Legendary Polish Power, I promise you.”
If Blachowicz does end up knocking Adesanya out the goal for the Pole is to go back home and spend time with his family. He has a newborn so he has to focus on raising his kid. The plan would be to fight at the end of the year and knows Glover Teixeira would be next.
“At the end of the year. I am a Father so I want to focus on my son and my fiancee. She isn’t sleeping during the night but I am,” Blachowicz concluded. “After the fight, I have to take care of my son.”
Do you think Jan Blachowicz will beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 259?