UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz says he is open to moving up to heavyweight and taking on champion Francis Ngannou.
Blachowicz is coming off of his first successful title defense of the UFC’s 205lbs title when he defeated middleweight champion Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 259. For his next fight, Blachowicz is expected to take on No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira. Having said that, Blachowicz is open to taking on another challenge if the UFC wants him to. Should Jon Jones not take the fight with Ngannou, then Blachowicz is open to taking it.
Speaking to RT Sport, Blachowicz said that he would move up to the heavyweight division to take on the new UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou if Jones doesn’t take the fight.
“If UFC sends me, ‘You want to fight against Francis?’ why not? I don’t have time for don’t accept fight like this. If they want to make fight like this, I would accept it, no problem,” Blachowicz said (h/t MMAFighting.com). “He’s got amazing power. He’s got power like Predator. He has great power but nobody has power like Legendary Polish Power.”
Blachowicz is arguably the heaviest hitter in the UFC light heavyweight division, and we already know Ngannou is the hardest hitter at heavyweight, so this fight between them would be a lot of fun if it ever happened. Blachowicz is 38 years old right now, so he knows that if he’s going to take these sort of big mega fights like a potential one against Ngannou, he will have to do it soon. That’s unlike Jones, who is five years younger and has more time to spare in his career. For Blachowicz, if the UFC offered him the chance to become a double champion and fight Ngannou, it’s an opportunity he would take if it was offered.
Do you think we will one day see Jan Blachowicz fight Francis Ngannou?