Getty Anderson v Blachowicz 2 will take place Saturday.
The heavyweight rematch between Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz will headline UFC Rio Rancho Saturday at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
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The prelims (5 p.m. ET) and the main card (8 p.m. ET) won’t be on TV in the United States, but anyone in the US can watch all the fights live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ is the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of UFC and other live sporting events, plus an extensive UFC on-demand library, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and other original content all for $4.99 per month.
Or, if you also plan on buying UFC 248: Adesanya vs Romero on March 7, you can get one year of ESPN+ ($49.99 value) and UFC 248 ($64.99 value) for a special bundle price of $84.98:
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can Anderson vs Blachowicz 2 and all the UFC Rio Rancho fights live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
UFC Rio Rancho 2020 Preview
Much is at stake, with the winner of this fight potentially getting a title shot, and the loser virtually kissing that opportunity goodbye. The last time these two veteran fighters faced off was back in 2015. Anderson won by decision, having won the final two rounds by 10-8 decisions. Blachowicz says he knows now why he lost the first time.
“I did a lot of mistakes in the first fight,” Blachowicz said. “No excuses, he beat me. I had to find out what went wrong and I know that what went wrong was that I was over-trained and I had jet lag. You saw that fight — after two minutes, I was completely exhausted. This time, I’m not over-trained and I came to Rio Rancho more than two weeks before the fight, so no jet lag. I feel great and like I posted on Instagram, ‘Same opponent, different story.'”
Blachowicz has won six of his last seven fights, including his previous two, and he says he knows what to do this time around.
“I am ready for everything, but I think Corey is going to use his boxing and try to take me down; do the same thing he did in the first fight,” he said. “But when I visualize this fight, I see myself knocking him out in the second round. I don’t know if it will be a left hand or a right hand, but I see me knocking him out.”
Anderson, for his part, says he is ready for a new and improved version of Blachowicz.
“Now it’s gonna be a whole different fighter,” Anderson said about his opponent. “It’s not gonna be just the kid that was athletic, with heart. Now, it’s a dangerous threat that’s athletic, with the heart and tenacity to be the best.”
Anderson has won his last four fights and says that while Blachowicz has likely improved as a fighter, so has he. “A lot of people don’t realize when we fought then, that was only a year-and-a-half of me fighting period,” Anderson said. “I was 5-1. I went into ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ at 3-0 with five to six months fighting experience. That was my third fight in the UFC, and I was 5-1. Now I’m 14-4.”
Anderson’s skill set is more versatile, and he should have a distinct advantage if he incorporates his myriad wrestling moves into this fight.