On Saturday afternoon, during the main card of the UFC’s exciting stop in Gdansk, Poland, Polish light heavyweight star Jan Blachowicz dazzled with a standing bulldog-choke win over Devin Clark.
OHHHH MY!!!
What a finish by @JanBlachowicz!!! Unreal!! #UFCGdansk pic.twitter.com/UwyMvXr8R2
— UFC (@ufc) October 21, 2017
This Performance of the Night winning stoppage served to separate Blachowicz from a tough, two-fight skid, as he recently gave up decisions to Patrick Cummins and Alexander Gustafsson. In his opinion, it should also set him up for a big name in his next fight – specifically, former UFC light heavyweight king Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
“This is not my decision,” Blachowicz said of his next matchup at the UFC Gdansk post-fight press conference. “But I would like a fight against ‘Shogun’ (Mauricio Rua).
Shogun is currently on a three-fight win-streak, having recently defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Corey Anderson by decision, and knocked out the durable Gian Villante. The Brazilian MMA legend was recently expected to rematch Ovince Saint Preux, who he was knocked out by back in 2014, but was unfortunately forced out of this do-over with a knee injury. He was then replaced by former UFC middleweight Yushin Okami, who Saint Preux defeated with a Von Flue choke.
The severity of the knee injury that forced Shogun out of this Saint Preux rematch is not clear, but hopefully it doesn’t keep him out of action for too long. Despite his long career, which has recently seen some low moments, he remains on of the UFC light heavyweight division’s premier players.
Would you be interested in seeing a fight between Jan Blachowicz and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua somewhere down the line? If these two light heavyweight talents stepped into the cage together, who do you think would win? Join the conversation in the comments section!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/22/2017.