Getty Israel Adesany
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz holds a win over current 185-pound king Israel Adesanya at 205 pounds. And now “Polish Power” wants to drop down a weight class and challenge “The Last Stylebender” for the middleweight strap.
The two battled for Blachowicz’s belt in March 2021 at UFC 259 when Adesanya was looking to become the fifth-ever fighter to hold two UFC divisional titles simultaneously. But, unfortunately for him, Polish Power used his size to control him on the ground during the fourth and fifth rounds, which ultimately earned the Polish fighter a unanimous decision victory.
Adesanya headlined this past Saturday’s UFC 287 opposite the man who took his middleweight crown in November, Alex Pereira. And The Last Stylebender regained his throne by knocking out the Brazilian kickboxer in the second round. Several fighters and members of the MMA community reacted to Adesanya’s triumph, including Blachowicz.
Blachowicz congratulated Adesanya and then called for an immediate title fight at middleweight — a weight class the career light heavyweight has yet to fight in. “Congratulations on a successful rematch, @stylebender,” he tweeted. “If you want to try another one, you know where to find me. This time at middleweight for your belt.”
Blachowicz is 1-1-1 since fighting Adesanya. He dropped his 205-pound belt to Glover Teixeira in his outing following his victory over The Last Stylebender. Then, he bounced back by beating Aleksandar Rakic after the Austrian suffered a knee injury in the third round of their May 2022 contest. At UFC 282 in December, Blachowicz attempted to become a two-time 205-pound champion by turning back Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant title. However, the fight was ruled a draw after five rounds.
If the UFC Doesn’t Run Adesanya vs. Pereira 3 Next, There Is No Clear Middleweight Contender
Assuming that Pereira drops to the No. 1 spot in the official UFC rankings when they update this week, Adesanya will now hold a win over every fighter sitting in the middleweight top five. With no clear-cut contender waiting in the wings for The Last Stylebender, the promotion may elect to run the trilogy match with Adesanya and Pereira.
But, UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 287 post-fight press conference that there was a high chance “Poatan” would move up to light heavyweight for his next outing. If that happens, Blachowicz’s case for an instant title fight may have some legs, especially if Adesanya wants to avenge the only other loss on his 24-2 professional MMA record.
This Isn’t the First Time Blachowicz Has Showed Interest in Becoming a Middleweight
Last summer, Blachowicz was featured on “The MMA Hour” and during his interview with Ariel Helwani, he expressed interest in cutting to 185 pounds to challenge Adesanya, who had yet to be dethroned by Pereira.
“Maybe this is the reason that now [Adesanya] will be very careful in the fights to not make any mistakes,” Blachowicz said via MMA Mania. “Just don’t lose the fight. Maybe I have to cut the weight and give him a rematch in his category. If I have a chance, why not? For Izzy and his belt, to fight for the belt? I can try. When I was a fighter in Muay Thai, it was 91 kilos or [200 pounds]. For a title, I can sacrifice myself a little bit. Why not? I will do it.”