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Who is Jan Blachowicz and Why You Should Watch Him at UFC 267

Lucas Coll
By
Jan Blachowicz in a boxing stance.

On Saturday, the UFC’s top two light heavyweight fighters (and two MMA icons in their own right) are stepping into the Octagon at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. There, reigning champion Jan Blachowicz will defend his title against challenger Glover Teixeira. This clash of titans airs exclusively on ESPN+, so now’s the time to sign up so you can watch UFC 267 live. Then read on to learn more about the defending champion, Jan Blachowicz.

Jan Blachowicz grew up in Cieszyn, Poland, and is one of the most famous Polish fighters in all of MMA. He’s the second Polish fighter to hold a UFC championship (former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the first), a distinction he won in September 2020 at UFC 253 where he knocked out Dominick Reyes in round two to claim the vacant title.

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Having trained in martial arts since the age of nine, Blachowicz entered the world of MMA through Polish BJJ championships (of which he won three between 2005 and 2007) and then Muay Thai tournaments (also claiming another three first-place championship finishes from 2006 to 2008). From 2007 to 2010, Blachowicz competed in the Polish MMA league Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, claiming three tournament wins yet again despite suffering a gruesome training injury that required a complete reconstruction of his knee along with a year and a half hiatus from the sport.

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Upon his return to the KSW, Blachowicz had to face two opponents in the same night. He knocked out the first and submitted the second. He then won, lost, reclaimed, and successfully defended the KSW Light Heavyweight Championship. In 2014, it was clearly time for Blachowicz to move up, and he signed a contract with the world’s biggest MMA league — the Ultimate Fighting Championship — in January of that year. He made his debut in October.

The Pole scored a knockout victory in his first fight in the UFC but had a rocky run after that. Between 2015 and 2017, Blachowicz lost four of his five fights, but almost exactly two years after his first UFC match, he seemed to hit his stride. From October 2017 through March 2021, Blachowicz won nine of his 10 matchups, his most recent victory being a notable unanimous decision victory over the formerly undefeated middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (who had moved up in weight to challenge for the light heavyweight belt). The light heavyweight champ’s current professional record stands at 28 wins and eight losses.

Will Blachowicz defend his title and cement his status as the MMA world’s top light heavyweight? Or will Teixeira score an upset to become the UFC’s oldest champion? You’ll need to watch UFC 267 online live to find out, and for that, you’ll need to sign up for ESPN+ and grab the PPV. The good news is that the UFC 267 pay-per-view is available to all ESPN+ subscribers at no extra cost, and if you sign up now, you can get a one-year subscription along with the UFC 268 PPV for $90 (a $50 discount). That’s two pay-per-views for the price of one.

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