Jan_Błachowicz

Jan Błachowicz

Jan Błachowicz

Polish mixed martial artist (born 1983)


Jan Maciej Błachowicz[1] (Polish: [ˈjan bwaˈxɔvitʂ]; born 24 February 1983) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2007, he also competed for KSW and is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion. He is the second Polish champion in UFC history, after Joanna Jędrzejczyk, and the first male Polish champion. As of August 1, 2023, he is #4 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.[7]

Quick Facts Born, Residence ...

Background

Growing up in Cieszyn, Poland, Błachowicz started training martial arts – initially judo at the age of nine – due to the influence of action movies.[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Jan Błachowicz in the ring celebrating victory

KSW

Błachowicz entered in KSWs inaugural <95 kg (209 lb) Tournament at KSW 9. Defeating three opponents in one night, Błachowicz was able to claim the tournament crown. His first opponent was Martin Zawada, who he defeated by unanimous decision. Błachowicz was able to defeat his next two opponents by armbar, including the notable opponent Antoni Chmielewski.[9]

Błachowicz went on to defeat Christian M'Pumbu four months later via armbar, before defeating previously unbeaten Maro Perak in December 2008.

Looking to expand his horizons after the very successful year 2008, Błachowicz accepted the invitation of Tomasz Drwal and joined him at the Throwdown Training Center in San Diego for a few months. He agreed to temporarily fight at Heavyweight, against Lloyd Marshbanks under the War Gods banner, but the event was canceled. Despite suffering a serious knee injury in July, Błachowicz continued his training, as he agreed to fight "somewhere in Mexico". About three weeks later, his knee suddenly popped in training when executing a takedown. The anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee was destroyed, making a knee reconstruction after his return to Poland inevitable.[10]

Return to MMA

Błachowicz was planning his comeback fight in March against Aleksandar Radosavljevic at WFC 10, but decided to withdraw and was replaced by fellow KSW TEAM member Antoni Chmielewski. After finally returning from the knee injury and 17 months layoff,[10] Błachowicz entered into the second KSW <95 kg tournament. Błachowicz had to face two opponents in the same night. His first opponent was the undefeated Brazilian Julio Brutus. Błachowicz was able to knock Brutus out with a high kick-right hook combination at 3:40 in the first round. In the semifinal, Błachowicz submitted his training partner Wojciech Orłowski with a rear-naked choke after just 1:37.[11]

In the meantime, Błachowicz took a fight on a few days notice against Nikolai Onikienko and submitted him in the second round.

He then faced Daniel Tabera in the final of the tournament at KSW XIV, winning via TKO in the second round and becoming once again the KSW Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion. Błachowicz then faced Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou for the vacant KSW Light Heavyweight Championship at KSW XV. He lost the fight via TKO, being unable to answer the bell for the third round because of his injured leg.[12]

Błachowicz had a rematch with Sokoudjou at KSW XVII. He won the bout via unanimous decision to become the new KSW Light Heavyweight Champion. His next three fights in KSW were against Mario Miranda, Houston Alexander and Goran Reljic, and all three he won by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In January 2014, after completing a 17–3 record on the European scene, Błachowicz signed a contract to fight in the light heavyweight division of the UFC.[13]

In his UFC debut, Błachowicz faced Ilir Latifi on October 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 53.[14] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[15]

Błachowicz faced Jimi Manuwa on April 11, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 64.[16] Błachowicz lost the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

Błachowicz was expected to face Anthony Johnson on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191.[18] However, Johnson was pulled from the bout on July 30 in favor of a fight with Jimi Manuwa at the event.[19] In turn, Błachowicz instead faced Corey Anderson on the same card.[20] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[21]

Błachowicz next faced Igor Pokrajac on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86.[22] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[23]

Błachowicz faced Alexander Gustafsson on September 3, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 93.[24] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[25]

Błachowicz was expected to face Ovince Saint Preux on February 4, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 104.[26] However, he pulled out on January 21 due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Volkan Oezdemir.[27]

Błachowicz was quickly rescheduled and faced Patrick Cummins on April 8, 2017, at UFC 210.[28] After a strong first round where he rocked Cummins on multiple occasions, Błachowicz soon fell to Cummins' wrestling and his own lack of stamina in the second and third rounds. He lost the fight via majority decision.[29]

Błachowicz faced Devin Clark on October 21, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till.[30] He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round.[31] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[32]

Błachowicz faced Jared Cannonier on December 16, 2017, at UFC on Fox 26.[33] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[34]

Błachowicz faced Jimi Manuwa in a rematch on March 17, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 127.[35] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[36] The win also earned him his first Fight of the Night bonus award.[37]

Błachowicz faced Nikita Krylov on September 15, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 136.[38] He won the fight via arm-triangle choke submission in the second round.[39] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[40]

Błachowicz faced Thiago Santos on February 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145.[41] Błachowicz was caught with a counter in the third round and lost by TKO, marking the first time in his MMA career that he has been stopped due to strikes.[42]

Błachowicz faced Luke Rockhold on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239.[43] He won the fight via knockout in the second round.[44] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[45]

Błachowicz then faced Ronaldo Souza on November 16, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 164.[46] He won the fight by a split decision.[47]

Błachowicz faced Corey Anderson on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167 in a rematch of their previous bout.[48] Błachowicz won the bout via first-round knockout.[49] The victory earned him his fourth Performance of the Night bonus award.[50]

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Błachowicz faced Dominick Reyes for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on September 27, 2020, at UFC 253.[51] He won the fight via TKO in the second round.[52] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[53]

Błachowicz faced UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya for his first title defense on March 6, 2021, at UFC 259.[54] He won the fight via unanimous decision, becoming the first person to defeat Adesanya in the UFC.[55]

Błachowicz was expected to make his second title defense against Glover Teixeira at UFC 266 on September 25, 2021.[56] However, the bout was postponed and moved to October 30, 2021, at UFC 267.[57] Błachowicz lost the fight and the title via second-round rear-naked choke submission.[58][59]

Post championship

Błachowicz was scheduled to face Aleksandar Rakić on March 26, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 33.[60] However, in late January, Błachowicz withdrew due to injury[61] and the bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14, 2022.[62] Błachowicz won the fight via technical knockout after Rakić was rendered unable to continue in the third round due to a knee injury.[63]

Błachowicz faced off against Magomed Ankalaev on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282 for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.[64][65] The fight ended in a controversial[66][67] split draw.[68] 23 out of 25 media members scored the fight as a win for Ankalaev.[69]

Błachowicz faced former UFC Middleweight champion Alex Pereira on July 29, 2023 at UFC 291.[70] He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.[71]

Błachowicz was scheduled to face Aleksandar Rakić in a rematch on January 20, 2024, at UFC 297.[72] However, Błachowicz withdrew due to shoulder surgery.[73]

Personal life

Błachowicz is a close friend of former UFC fighter Tomasz Drwal. They were training together at the Throwdown Training Center in San Diego when he suffered his knee injury in 2009. Some time ago he moved to Warsaw with his girlfriend, changing his long-time club Octagon Rybnik to Paweł Nastula's club. He also occasionally trains in Alliance MMA with names such as Alexander Gustafsson, Phil Davis, Joey Beltran, and Dominick Cruz.[10]

Błachowicz confirmed the birth of his son in December 2020.[74]

Championships and accomplishments

Pay-per-view bouts

More information No., Event ...

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
40 matches 29 wins 10 losses
By knockout 9 2
By submission 9 2
By decision 11 6
Draws 1
More information Res., Record ...

[83]

See also


References

  1. Jamróg, Adrian (2022-03-05). "JAN BŁACHOWICZ SKOMENTOWAŁ WALKĘ JAPCZANA! (aktualizacja lodowa)". topinflu.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  2. "Fight Card – UFC 191 Johnson vs. Dodson 2". UFC.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  3. "Jan Blachowicz | UFC". UFC.com. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  4. W. Mrozowski (June 29, 2017). "Marcin Tybura i Jan Błachowicz promowani na czarny pas BJJ". MMAnews.pl (in Polish).
  5. "The Year In European MMA". sherdog.com. January 15, 2009.
  6. "Sherdog prospect watch - Jan Błachowicz". sherdog.com. September 17, 2010.
  7. John Barry (2014-07-30). "Latifi meets newcomer Błachowicz at UFC Stockholm". UFC.com. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  8. Staff (2015-01-23). "UFC Fight Night 64 heads to Poland with Cro Cop-Gonzaga II, Blachowicz-Manuwa". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  9. Ben Fowlkes (2015-04-11). "UFC Fight Night 64 results: Jimi Manuwa outstrikes Jan Blachowicz to take decision". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
  10. Thomas Myers (2015-07-16). "Anthony Johnson's next fight set against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 191 on Sept. 5". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  11. Damon Martin (2015-07-30). "Anthony Johnson now faces Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191 in Las Vegas". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  12. Jason Floyd (2015-07-30). "Jan Blachowicz vs. Corey Anderson set for UFC 191". themmareport.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  13. Ben Fowlkes (2015-09-05). "UFC 191 results: Corey Anderson rolls over Jan Blachowicz". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  14. Ben Fowlkes (2016-04-10). "UFC Fight Night 86 results: Jan Blachowicz outworks Igor Pokrajac for decision victory". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  15. Damon Martin (2016-06-17). "Alexander Gustafsson returns against Jan Blachowicz in Germany". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  16. Mike Jackson (2016-12-04). "UFC announces lineup for Superbowl weekend Fight Night in Houston". mikethetruth.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  17. Staff (2017-01-27). "More bouts added to UFC 210 in Buffalo". buffalonews.com. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  18. Steven Marrocco (2017-04-08). "UFC 210 results: Patrick Cummins withstands Jan Blachowicz's striking to take majority decision". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  19. Staff (2017-08-09). "Jan Blachowicz meets Devin Clark at October's UFC Fight Night event in Gdansk". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  20. Staff (2017-11-07). "Roberts vs. Westcott, Blachowicz vs. Cannonier added to UFC on FOX 26 in Winnipeg". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  21. Dann Stupp (2018-01-14). "Jimi Manuwa vs. Jan Blachowicz rematch booked for UFC Fight Night 127 in London". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  22. Andrew Pearson (2018-03-17). "UFC Fight Night 127 results: Jan Blachowicz avenges loss to Jimi Manuwa in slugfest". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  23. Dan Hiergesell (2018-03-17). "UFC Fight Night 127 bonuses: Alexander Volkov's main event knockout leads $50K winners". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  24. Ryan Gerbasi (2018-12-21). "Blachowicz vs. Santos added as 5 round bout to ESPN+ 3". ufc.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  25. Ravens, Andrew; MMA, LowKick (2019-03-20). "Luke Rockhold To Make Light Heavyweight Debut At UFC 239". LowKickMMA.com. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  26. Doherty, Dan (2019-07-06). "UFC 239 Results: Jan Blachowicz Flatlines Luke Rockhold". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  27. Hiergesell, Dan (2019-07-07). "UFC 239 Bonuses! Masvidal's Historic KO Leads $50K Winners". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  28. "Souza to headline against Blachowicz, White says". ESPN. September 7, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  29. Evanoff, Josh (2019-11-16). "UFC Sao Paulo Results: Blachowicz Defeats Jacare In Slow-Affair". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  30. Fuentes, Jon (2020-09-27). "UFC 253 Results: Jan Blachowicz Crushes Dominick Reyes". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  31. Alexander K. Lee (2020-09-27). "UFC 253 bonuses: Israel Adesanya, Jan Błachowicz cash in with championship performances". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  32. Doherty, Dan (7 March 2021). "UFC 259 Results: Jan Blachowicz Outworks Israel Adesanya, Defends Title". Cageside Press. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  33. Law, Eddie (2021-10-30). "UFC 267 Results: Glover Teixeira Defies The Odds, Finishes Blachowicz For The Title". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  34. Steven Marrocco (2021-01-27). "Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic scratched from UFC Columbus". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  35. Marcel Dorff (2022-03-27). "UFC Blachowicz vs. Rakic main event booked again, this time for May 14th". Eurosport (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  36. Doherty, Dan (2022-05-15). "UFC Vegas 54: Aleksandar Rakic Injures Knee, Falls to Jan Blachowicz". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  37. Farah Hannoun (2022-10-11). "Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev set for UFC 282 on Dec. 10". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  38. Newswire, MMA Fighting (2022-11-23). "Jiri Prochazka out of UFC 282, vacates title; Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz fight for vacant belt". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  39. Doherty, Dan (2022-12-11). "UFC 282: Magomed Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz Fight to Puzzling Draw". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  40. Dewar, Val (2023-07-30). "UFC 291: Alex Pereira Defeats Jan Błachowicz In Close Split Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  41. Nolan King (2023-12-07). "Jan Blachowicz announces surgery, issues emotional statement on UFC 297 withdrawal". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  42. "UFC Records - Light Heavyweight". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  43. Martin, Adam (11 March 2021). "Report - UFC 259 sold 800,000 pay-per-views worldwide". BJPenn. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
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