It was recently revealed that Jan Blachowicz will likely be making his first light heavyweight title defense against middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. He promises that he will be taking the undefeated champ’s perfect record if that meet.
Few were expecting that if Adesanya moved up to light heavyweight, it would be to face Jan Blachowicz. The newly crowned light heavyweight champ won the vacant strap after Jon Jones let go of his title to prepare for a heavyweight move. So it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Jones and Adesanya to face off while Jan defended his title against the new contender. Nevertheless Dana White revealed that they were looking to book a fight between Jan and Izzy instead.
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Jan Blachowicz Wants To Wait Until March
Although Dana White has been vocal about wanting Jan Blachowicz vs Israel Adesanya, and Izzy has confirmed this to be true, there has been no sort of timeline for the fight. Speaking in a recent interview, Jan revealed that this holdup could be on his end. Due to the incoming birth of his child, and the uncertain future in his homeland of Poland, he is hoping for the match in March, and is not bothered if Adesanya does not want that timeline and fights someone else.
“(The UFC) asked me something (about fighting Adesanya) after my fight in Abu Dhabi, the next day,” Blachowicz said. “I say it’s no problem for me but not now. In March I can fight anybody, it’s no problem for me. But I can not fight any earlier than March. This is one problem for my opponent. If Israel wants to wait no problem, if not he needs to fight a different challenge.”
Adesanya Can’t Handle Polish Power
As far as how the fight would go, many people are somewhat looking past Jan Blachowicz. Even the oddsmakers have Israel Adesanya opening as a substantial favorite. That being said, if Izzy feels the same way as the oddsmakers, Jan warns him that he will be sorely mistaken.
“If he thinks like this he’s wrong,” Blachowicz says. “Why does Jon Jones not want to fight at 205 anymore? He’s afraid of me. That’s why he moved to heavyweight. This is the reason. So this is not going to be an easier fight for Adesanya. It’s going to be a harder fight.
“If he thinks like this he is wrong, but I don’t care what he thinks. If they make this fight I will prove him wrong. He will go back to (middleweight) very fast,” Blachowicz continued. “It’s going to be amazing because when I beat him he’s going to remember me for the rest of his life. I am going to be the first one to beat him in MMA.
“He’s going to feel my Polish Power like everybody.”
If Israel Adesanya is willing to wait until March, it will be interesting to see how he matches up against Jan Blachowicz. However he would be foolish to count out the Polish champion.
