Jan Blachowicz is not pretending the timing is anything but brutal.
In an exclusive MiddleEasy interview, the former UFC light heavyweight champion was supposed to run it back with Bogdan Guskov at UFC 328, but a torn meniscus knocked him out of the fight and left the 205-pound division with another moving part. Blachowicz is listed at 29-11-2 in MMA after his majority draw with Guskov at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025. He is also ranked No. 4 in the UFC light heavyweight division as of April 14, 2026.
Guskov is listed at 18-3-1 and ranked No. 10 at light heavyweight. Their first fight ended without a winner, and the rematch was supposed to clean that up. Instead, Blachowicz is back in Poland recovering from knee surgery and trying to map out a return.
Speaking in an exclusive MiddleEasy interview, Blachowicz said the surgery already happened, and the first update was positive.
Blachowicz also addressed the injury update on Instagram.
The surgery is done. Now it’s time for rehabilitation and I’m back on the mat 👊 pic.twitter.com/1FqFFwgaIK
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) April 23, 2026
“Three days ago, I had the surgery. So everything is good. Surgery was perfect. My physio says that everything looks okay after this. It’s only three or four days. So still, you know, a long way before me.”
Blachowicz Gives Timeline After Torn Meniscus Surgery
Blachowicz said he is still in Poland doing physiotherapy instead of traveling to the United States for fight week. The first step is getting through the early recovery window before he starts moving again in the gym.
“After 10 days, this is my best friends right now. After 10 days, I can let it go. And so then I will start, you know, do something in the gym, like easy boxing, just technique, no power lifting.”
The former champion said the real test comes when doctors and his physiotherapist clear him to work near full speed.
“I hope so that after four or five weeks, I can back to the gym and do almost everything for 100 percent. This is what the doctor and my physio says, four or five weeks.”
A fight date will still take longer than that. Blachowicz said once he can train normally, he expects to need a full camp before getting back in there.
“When I start training for 100 percent, I need like two or three months to prepare, see how I feel. And then I can find some fight.”
When asked if a fall return sounded realistic, Blachowicz did not promise an exact month, but his answer pointed in that direction.
“As soon as possible, when I’m going to be just ready, when my physiotherapist says okay, tomorrow we can go to the gym and do everything like you do before surgery, then I need like two and a half months.”
The Injury Happened In Sparring
Blachowicz said this was not a lingering issue that slowly got worse. It happened in sparring during the final minute of the final round.
“No, no, that was training session, sparring session. Last round, last minute, I was in the bad position and that was just low kick. My friend keep me low kick. I was in very bad position and I just feel it and I hear it, you know, it was like pop.”
He finished the session, but the knee quickly made it obvious something was wrong.
“I finished my sparring session, but after five minutes I cannot walk. So I knew that something is bad. So I go to hospital, do MRI and doctor says, I don’t know how to say in English, something between the knees broken and destroyed completely. So we need to fix it.”
Blachowicz also clarified that the injury was not an ACL tear.
“Different things, not ACL, the different things.”
Blachowicz Says This Is Not How His Career Ends
At 43, any surgery will naturally raise questions. Blachowicz has been fighting professionally since 2007, won the UFC light heavyweight title in 2020 by stopping Dominick Reyes, defended it against Israel Adesanya in 2021, and has remained near the top of the division even after losing the belt to Glover Teixeira.
He did not sound like a fighter ready to let a torn meniscus decide the ending.
“No, I need to finish this career on my way.”
Blachowicz admitted the injury made him angry because of the timing.
“I was very angry. Why now?”
After a painful night, he said he shifted toward getting the knee fixed and moving forward.
“When I wake up next day, I almost don’t sleep because of the pain. But in the next day I say, okay, shit happened. Something like this, not the end of my career. I need to go to hospital, fix it and finishing my way. Not like this.”
Will The Bogdan Guskov Rematch Still Happen
Blachowicz and Guskov fought to a majority draw at UFC 323, which made the UFC 328 rematch a clean way to settle unfinished business. Now the question is whether Guskov waits, takes another opponent, or gets moved in a different direction.
Blachowicz said he does not know yet.
“We will see. I don’t know. Maybe he got different opponent or maybe he waiting for me.”
Guskov entered the UFC in 2023 and has built himself into a ranked light heavyweight. His record includes knockout wins over Zac Pauga, Ryan Spann, and Nikita Krylov before the draw with Blachowicz.
Blachowicz Reacts To Carlos Ulberg Knocking Out Jiri Prochazka
The title picture changed fast while Blachowicz was dealing with his own injury. Carlos Ulberg knocked out Jiri Prochazka in the first round at UFC 327 on April 11, 2026, winning the vacant UFC light heavyweight title despite suffering a leg injury during the fight.
Blachowicz said the result was a reminder that focus matters until the fight is actually over.
“You have to be focused all the time. If fight is a fight, he catch injury, but he was still dangerous. Like we see, now he’s the champion.”
Ulberg is listed at 14-1 in MMA and became the first UFC light heavyweight champion from New Zealand. Prochazka, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and former Rizin light heavyweight champion, is listed at 32-6-1 after the loss.
Blachowicz gave Ulberg credit for winning while compromised.
“Congrats for Ulberg, great job. Amazing performance. He don’t stop fight when he catch injury. So even he won the fight with the one leg. So that was like, wow, amazing.”
Blachowicz Weighs In On 205 Interim Title Talk
Ulberg’s title win came with another problem for the division. Reports of an ACL injury raised the obvious question of whether the UFC could create an interim title at light heavyweight.
Blachowicz did not campaign for anything while he is hurt. He said his focus is getting healthy.
“Now I’m going to be honest with you, I focus about my injury. I don’t care what’s going to happen over there right now. I focus about me, about my health. I need to be back as soon as possible. This is only in my mind.”
When the larger 205-pound picture came up, Blachowicz said the UFC may need to sort the contenders through multiple matchups instead of forcing one clean answer.
“In my opinion, they need to make one fight. They need a lot of small tournament. They have to make small tournament, two fights and the winner of these two fights, the tournament, they can fight again.”
The names around that discussion are easy to see. Magomed Ankalaev is a former champion. Paulo Costa just made noise at light heavyweight. Prochazka is still ranked near the top even after the Ulberg loss. Khalil Rountree Jr. remains relevant. And if Blachowicz heals on schedule, he still wants to be part of the mix.
“Maybe me against someone.”
Watch the full interview below.
