There was no newcomer to the UFC’s exclusive Champ-Champ club on Saturday night.
That’s what this UFC 259 main event was all about, right? Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya’s quest to add the light heavyweight belt to become the fifth fighter to rule two weight divisions at the same time and aspire to be one of the biggest stars in MMA.
Jan Blachowicz? In the mainstream story leading to this superfight, the 205-pound champion was just a supporting actor, a role he has grown accustomed to – and one in which he thrived.
In fact, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if, in addition to his victory party, Blachowicz had experienced a little déjà vu.
Moving to UFC 259, Blachowicz had felt a familiar feeling of being overshadowed. In recent weeks, most of the attention had been focused on Adesanya and the superstar opponent he was not faced in Jon Jones. Oddmakers even installed Blachowicz as a rare underdog champion. Underdog status is nothing new either; Blachowicz has only been preferred twice to win in his past 10 fights.
But Blachowicz just went ahead and did what he has done over and over again for the past 3½ years: he exceeded expectations and made it his night.
Blachowicz is no stranger to being overlooked or seeing opportunities out of his grasp, only to step confidently into our field of vision and assert his presence at the most appropriate time. As late as the fall of 2017, he was 2-4 in the UFC and was on the verge of losing his spot on the squad. He has since won nine of his ten games.
And yet, as Blachowicz, 38, steadily rose through the ranks of light heavyweights, the division’s then-champion Jones looked in all directions except in the direction of the mighty slugger from Poland. Jones had his eye on Adesanya, the middleweight champion with a fast-rising star and the potential to jump in weight. Jones later turned his gaze to the heavyweight division and its gigantic challenges, which is what he ultimately chose to steer his career and give up the light heavyweight title.
Blachowicz then captured the vacant title in September with a second round knockout from Dominick Reyes. But even when he took possession of the belt, Blachowicz still felt the sting of a missed opportunity. He’s in this game to challenge himself, and there’s no greater challenge for a light heavyweight than trying to solve Jones.
It’s impossible to ignore that MMA is fueled by star power and how beating a superstar like Jones could have boosted Blachowicz’s career.
Now we’ll see if beating Adesanya, who was on the verge of superstar herself on Saturday, has a similar effect. It wasn’t the most dynamic win for Blachowicz as it lacked a signature highlight moment, but handing a fellow champion his first loss is an important achievement. Blachowicz faced yet another challenge head-on and once again came out on top.
In the end, it was clearly Blachowicz’s night, but early on the fight was an even back and forth fight with both men usually keeping their distance and being careful. Adesanya used his footwork to avoid the strength of the light heavyweight champion, and Blachowicz showed respect for the smooth attack from all angles of the middleweight champion, reacting to every feint and movement. Neither man seriously hurt the other, but both felt the effects of several major punches and kicks. And when the championship rounds finally arrived, Blachowicz took over and refused to relinquish control.
The predominant thought that came to mind in the fight was that Blachowicz’s power would be the difference if he could deliver a hefty punch. But as it turned out, it was the power on the canvas that Blachowicz won this fight.
He spent the last three minutes of Round 4 atop Adesanya, who never posed any serious threat to escape from position and get the fight back on track. And halfway through the final lap, Blachowicz went back to the mat and once again secured his position on top of his challenger, again with no escape route.
The fight ended with Blachowicz at full strength, the most dominant position in the sport, landing punches and elbows when the horn sounded. He took the unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the match 49-45 and the other 49-46. It was the first loss of Adesanya’s professional MMA career. Blachowicz took the circumstances given to him and made the most of it.
This may not be Blachowicz’s achievement that will lead Jones to rush back to the 205-pound division. Jones is expected to make his heavyweight debut this summer, challenging the winner of this month’s title fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. Should Jones win the heavyweight championship, the 205-pound division would probably never see him again.
But if Jones’s offer fell short, especially in a serious loss on his first fight against someone taller than him, could he look back to light heavyweight and see Blachowicz through a new lens? After all, Jones made it clear that he was looking elsewhere because he didn’t see the benefit of facing such an inconspicuous hunter. Blachowicz has certainly boosted his profile by tackling Adesanya, the Nigerian-born New Zealand resident. It’s a start.
Should circumstances steer Jones his way, Blachowicz would welcome the challenge, even if it took a bloated Jones some time to get back to 205 pounds.
“I believe I will get that fight in the future,” Blachowicz told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in the build-up to this weekend’s fight. “When I’m not in the UFC, I’ll go to Albuquerque and fight him in his gym. We will do this.”
For Blachowicz, that was just talking about future matchmaking. As he said those words, his focus was on Adesanya. But now that the middleweight champion is out of the way, Blachowicz’s full attention shifts to the next man in line with light heavyweight. That appears to be Glover Teixeira, who has won five fights in a row and doesn’t have much time to wait at the age of 41.
Blachowicz is on board. “I’d like to fight Glover,” he said.
That is the way Jan Blachowicz works. He took care of things on Saturday night, and now it’s up to the next job. He’s the type to keep his head down and move forward, not distracted by fantasy matches or being the A side of the tent. Being a champion is what he has always dreamed of, and that’s enough for him. For now.